We’re not even half way through, but does anyone else feel like this year has knocked them into another universe?

The reason I started this blog was to encourage myself (and others) to make small changes, at a household level, towards a healthier lifestyle. I had a little purpose and a little outlet to share what I was learning along the way.

In the face of everything happening this year, that just seems laughable.

Let’s run down some of the pressing issues of the world in 2020 (all of which deserve way more than a bullet point):

• Climate crisis
• Black lives matter
• Me too
• The COVID-19 ‘pandemic’, which has also highlighted issues with:
  • Health care systems
  • Mental health issues
  • Undervalued education system
  • Media agendas guided by profit and fear
  • Financial crisis
  • Vaccine controversy
  • Socio-economic disparities in death rates
  • Anyone questioning the mainstream message suddenly becoming a ‘conspiracy theorist’ and content being blocked
• (EU) Brexit
• (AUS) Bushfires and devastation across Australia

Questioning

I’m sure I’m not alone in feeling that 2020 has been a year where the barriers have come smashing down to reveal the raw and suffering world around us. Are there issues that you’re starting to understand for the first time? Have you been shocked by the privileges and luxuries you took for granted that many are struggling without? Can you return to ‘normal’, when we were desensitised to inequality and worldwide issues effecting so many? In your personal situation, have you been made to reassess your values? Are you questioning the motivations of the systems in place around you? What is your position in the world now, and what power do you have to make change?

I have been trying to educate myself, to avoid the news and read up on these issues beyond the mainstream fear-driven messages. I wanted to understand the issues and be part of conversations to improve our world. At the bottom of it, I really just want to be a good human being.

But this year, coping with the day-to-day has been so much harder. Personally, I have been severely overworked, extremely isolated, and more challenged than ever to manage my not-so-good mental health. The stress has now resulted in my autoimmune thyroid disease flaring up, meaning bone-deep exhaustion and weeks off work in bed. It isn’t a far stretch to assume that the majority of people in a similar position of privilege are also having moments of being similarly burnt out and overwhelmed.

What can we do?

I know that big changes are needed. We are seeing systemic issues that will require major rethinking, massive diverting of funds and resource, and the breaking down of many institutions to rebuild from the ground up.

But that is beyond me. I am a little person living in a little corner of the world trying to improve in little ways. However, that doesn’t mean I am powerless! And neither are you!

I don’t have the answer to solving the world’s issues from the ground up, but there are factors that I hope can contribute to the answer.

Personal change:

• Take some time to be introspective and look at your values and lifestyle in light of the many issues coming to the fore. Do you see anything within yourself that now doesn’t sit right with you? If this question doesn’t make you feel raw and uncomfortable, you aren’t thinking hard enough. Only by being honest and facing those coarse parts of ourselves can we make positive change.
• Educate yourself. Read, listen to podcasts, watch documentaries, follow activists and leaders on social media and expose yourself to messages and ideas beyond the mainstream (including those being blocked and labelled ‘conspiracy theories’). However:
  • Remember to question the motives of the people/agencies sharing views and information and ask if they have anything to gain from that message. Who are their financial backers? Who is powerful within that outlet that may have other agendas? What other businesses/industries are they associated with?
  • Avoid using Google and other search engines that have been proven to use bias in search results and block certain content.
• Sustainable long-term change is more important than a knee-jerk reaction on social media. Change in your personal life is more effective when made slowly but permanently – don’t drop the thread.
• Don’t strive to be a perfectionist when advocating issues. Know that you won’t get it right. Every journey is a process and you will continuously learn along the way. Stay open to new lessons and ideas, but be sure to still actively raise your voice.

Use your power:

• Identify your privilege and your bias. Use your privilege for good, and consciously challenge your bias at every turn.
• Use your power as a consumer to support ethical / small / Black / marginalised / local / eco-friendly businesses. Avoid those profiting the world’s elite and those that finance agendas you disagree with.
• Vote in your government elections and referendums at a local, state and/or national level.
• Sign petitions, write letters, and add your voice to the multitudes demanding change.
• If you can, financially support organisations working towards the changes you wish to happen.
• Identify goals that are achievable within the energy, time and finances you can dedicate, not just now but in the long-term.
• Don’t wait until you have the perfect message or have researched the issue to the nth degree before starting to use your voice, since any issue is very complex. Be active, not passive, about what you are learning as you go, and build the conversation in a positive way.

But remember to:

• Look after yourself first, so that you can look after others and work towards a better world.
• Treat yourself and others with compassion and understanding.
• Identify stressors. Eliminate those you can, but accept that many stressors will not be solved and go away. However, you can manage your mental health and the stress they cause (which is easier said than done, I know).
• You can’t actively advocate for every issue all the time, but every little bit does add up. You aren’t failing anyone in between, as long as you don’t stay passive.

What will I do?

Right now, I’m still healing and I need to focus on my mental health first in order to make any progress. But some key goals of mine are to:

• Read and educate myself about racism, white privilege and the systemic issues I have been blind to.
• Place a much bigger focus on my mental health going forward so that I can maintain a healthier lifestyle and create sustained change.
• Put more time, energy and money where my heart is by actively using my personal power to support the changes I wish to see.
• Continue becoming more eco-friendly, reconnecting with the earth and doing what I can to reduce my impact on climate change.
• Continue researching to challenge conventional messages when it comes to managing health and wellbeing.
• Use this little blog to share what I find, where I can.

Like I said, the purpose of this blog was to promote inward and outward goodness for a happier world and healthier lifestyle. While my original scope may have been a bit limited, my new goals actually fit in there quite snugly as well. I’m learning how our personal acts of goodness can actually be used to drive change on a much wider scale. I’m finding my power.

What will you do?

Make 2020 the year that you start opening your eyes wider, researching deeper, learning about the issues and struggles of others, finding ways to make positive change and using your power to make it happen.

How will you use your power to make the changes you wish to see in the world?