A bike crash in college shook my confidence to the point that I was no longer comfortable riding. Some associated baggage is tied up with the desire to do it well or not do it at all. A recent mountain biking trip helped me practice going easy on myself, and some of those lessons came back to the office with me.
Between climate change, pollution, war, gun violence, and erosion of basic human rights, things are looking a little dire right now, and people are getting exhausted, myself included. This post looks at Nervous System Dysregulation as a result of chronic stress, as well as what individuals can do to step back and view the long path of advocacy as a marathon, not a sprint.
There are plenty of debates right now about energy independence and what that means, especially in light of Putin’s invasion of Ukraine and the resulting boycotts of Russian fossil fuels. There’s not much I can do as an individual, but these events prompted my switch to a third-party electricity supplier, particularly one that focuses on utility-scale wind and solar projects here in Pennsylvania.
The second and third posts on this blog were about third-party electricity suppliers in Pennsylvania and my impending switch to support one of them. Three years later, spurred by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, I finally got around to making a choice and making it happen. This two-part series is my renewed argument for an easy shift away from fossil fuel-based electricity generation.
As climate change projections become more dire and necessary action lags, younger members of society are stepping up to take control of their future. While it should not be their responsibility to find solutions, it is nonetheless inspiring to see how individual actions create ripple effects that lead to change. Those who will be impacted the most say it is not the time to give up the fight.
While working through this series, it became apparent that the issue was bigger than that of having or not having kids. In our very divided world, it seems like part of me wanted to close out this series with an attempt to find some common ground between two polarizing figures and their very different philosophies. This week: how moral development plays into the picture.
I’ve asked some friends probing questions about Catholicism and Objectivism over the last few weeks to make sure I was interpreting Pope Francis and Ayn Rand correctly for the arguments I’m putting forth in this series. But they had some questions for me, which made me realize I had to examine the context of a third person for this series: the author.
Breaking down barriers (particularly political ones) is essential to collaboration and, therefore, progress. I am not a fan of labels, but I still subconsciously assign them to myself and others. Depending on the label, the result can be helpful or (more likely) detrimental. Finding common ground with each other is the first step to building trust and unlocking meaningful solutions to the collective challenges we face.
Impending apocalypse got you down? Me too. Fortunately I got a boost of hope from a book I recently read that is designed to help its readers create meaningful connections despite differing opinions on climate change. This book helped me prepare for a conference that was ultimately canceled, but the learning remains and will hopefully continue to guide me through a more thoughtful 2022.
Omicron has put a damper on holiday festivities in our family, but this Christmas still looks very different from last Christmas. Vaccines are helping to reduce severity of breakthrough infections, and the availability of rapid tests is helping to give people who can find them added peace of mind. I hope that your holiday is a happy and healthy one, despite this latest complication.