Hope for 2015?  Don’t hope.  Get involved!

Greetings!

As I sat down to write this month’s Tidbits, I learned that Ted Cruz will become the new head of the Senate Subcommittee on Space, Science, and Competitiveness.  Having him anywhere near the levers of power is dangerous enough, but as the head of a crucial Science committee?  It’s an outrage that will have repercussions for decades.  And with that insult to us all, 2015 was off and running.

In summing up 2014 I had written “we can only hope 2015 is better”, but Ted’s elevation made me reconsider.  It’s not a pleasant thought, but much of the mess we find ourselves in today is our own fault. People like Cruz are in power partly because we hoped they wouldn’t be.  Hope has never been enough.  Each of us needs to do more than just hope, we need to fight the lethargy and act.

Gandhi said “Be the change that you wish to see in the world”, and there’s evidence that advice was even more powerful than even he knew.  According to Rupert Sheldrake’s morphic resonance theory, changes in individuals affect the entire genetic and societal makeup of humanity at a fundamental physical level.  If the One affects the Many, how will you change the world?  What matters to you?  Single payer healthcare?  Environmental cleanup?  Animal welfare?  Find issues you care about, local, national, or international, and resolve to do more than hope.  Resolve to work toward making a change; any change large or small matters.

You don’t even have to be a joiner to make a difference. Educate yourself on issues that matter to you, and then talk to your friends and family.  Is your money still at a for-profit bank instead of a credit union?  Why?  Are you tired of supporting the oil economy?  Then what about free solar for your home?  If you’re concerned about strong national, state, and local economies, then go out of your way to spend your hard-earned dollars at a business that’s as local as possible.

Yes, things in 2014 certainly could have been better, but there were bright patches of sunlight… the nonsensical prohibition of marijuana ended in two more states, the repressive laws against same-sex marriage are falling away, and the pointless embargo of Cuba is changing.  These things didn’t happen by accident.  They happened because people like you decided to do more than wish for a beautiful world.  They happened because people like you acted, and acted at every level.  Don’t just hope for a better 2015, don’t just hope for a better world… get involved, and help make it happen!

Take Care and Make a Great Day!