Mosaic Monday #63: Don't go with the glaciers

In last week’s post, I wrote about my chosen responses for troubling world events: prayer and sticking my head in the sand.   I am sure most of my readers recognized the ostrich reference as somewhat tongue in cheek, since I am not one to sit idly by when something needs to be fixed.  (It also made for a handy writing technique to segue into our Hamburg trip.)

But even I can get depressed and discouraged every now and then, so it got me thinking about the root of my recent discontent.  And more importantly, how to improve my mood.  As a wise Spousal Unit said to me, this is not my typical post, but if I am feeling this way, maybe writing about it can help someone else.  So here goes.

I believe the source of my displeasure is a mismatch between expectation and reality.  I expect the world to be safe for humans, animals and plants, and all too often it is not.  I want a certain amount of green space to be preserved for animal habitat and human recreation, and yet those spaces are disappearing quickly.  I expect to be respected when I am trying to do the right thing, and recently I have experienced pushback.

So, what are my choices?  I can lower my expectations.  I found the above quote, and initially it made me feel better.  Upon further reflection, I think it is an appropriate quote for holidays or other special events, when our expectations are often so high that we are bound to be dissatisfied.  But to apply it to our planet – hmmm.  I don’t think I am ready to accept things “as they are”.

I can alter reality by taking action.  I am already involved in an initiative designed to reduce carbon emissions through increased investment in renewable forms of electricity, and today Spousal Unit and I agreed we should research the parcels that might be for sale as a result of the Weyerhaeuser deal.  As someone recently pointed out to me, it's difficult to live in the wilderness unless you own the wilderness.  It's also difficult to protect the wilderness unless someone who cares owns the wilderness.

I can ensure that I have the facts, rather than making assumptions.  In the process of gathering signatures for the initiative that I mentioned above, I was challenged by a city official on a public sidewalk.   I was equal parts frustrated and discouraged.  Suffice it to say that I was tempted to categorize City Hall as the bad guy, make assumptions about their intentions, and ignore their request that I obtain a permit.  Instead, I have made an appointment with the city manager on Wednesday, and I am confident that we can find a middle ground.

I can ensure that my picture of reality is balanced.  A) From our little corner of the world, it is easy to fall into “woe is me”.  But I am absolutely certain that there is always someone out there that has it worse than me.  That is not to say that I am rejoicing that someone is worse off, but gaining a broader perspective does help to pull me up.  And then I will be more disposed to help those in need.    B) “Bad news” is everywhere, and it can lead us to believe that all news is bad.  But I have only to look at the posts of my fellow bloggers to know that is not true.  People crafting pouches for the joeys and other animals stranded by the Australian wildfires.  Bloggers who bring the devastation of plastic to the forefront, with concrete suggestions on what we can do as individuals to have an impact.  Friends who point us to alternative sources of news, such as Global Goodness – thank you Maria of Under my umbrella.  Her link prompted me to seek out other forums, and I located the Good News Network.

And if all that fails, I still have hope.  Good old Google provides this definition of hope:  “a feeling of expectation and desire for a certain thing to happen”.  Well, you can see how this becomes a bit circular.  I hope.  My expectations are not met and I lose hope.  So I dug deeper.

How interesting that Google provides a second definition for hope, which is noted as “archaic” – in other words, very old, or old-fashioned.  That definition?  “A feeling of trust”.  I don’t know about you, but I sense that people are losing trust in some of our most basic institutions, from news outlets to churches to governments.  If that fabric continues to fray, it will be hard to get anything accomplished.  

So I call on all of us to do what we can, and to trust that good things will result.  Who knows, Google's dictionary may restore trust as a modern definition of hope, rather than consider it as a concept whose days are disappearing with the glaciers.

Mosaic Monday

Welcome to Mosaic Monday, a weekly meme where we get together to share our photo mosaics and collages.
Please include at least one photo mosaic/collage in your post.
The link will be open from 1 p.m. Sunday until 11 p.m. Monday (U.S. Mountain time).
Remember to add the link to your Mosaic Monday post and not the one to your blog.
Please link back to this post so that your readers will be able to visit and enjoy more wonderful mosaics; taking the MM blog button from my sidebar is an easy way to link back.
As host I will visit every participant and leave a comment so that you know I stopped by.
Please try and visit as many other blogs as you can, especially those that join in later, so that everyone's creativity can be appreciated fully.
Thank you for joining in today and sharing your mosaics with us. 

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