Goodness. If you say it often enough, it doesn't sound like a real word anymore. And in a world gone all wobbly and sideways, it's easy to think that maybe "goodness" isn't even a thing. If we're looking for evidence that things have all gone to heck, well, there seems to be a growing body!

Evidence against

You don't need reminders of all of the ways we know that Goodness is taking a thumping, hey? Have you been hacked lately, and threatened with recrimination if you don't send money/call this number/set this straight right now? Or had your identity stolen? Maybe you've been victim to prejudice or shaming? Is the one who ought to love you best hurting you? Your body may not be cooperating and you could be feeling stuck and lonely. Friends fail us, money is tight, and the world-at-large feels like it's equal parts dumpster fire and a volcano preparing to violently erupt. So much evidence for not-Goodness.

Evidence for Goodness

What to do? Who are we to be in the face of blaming and hating and self-promotion and ice that's melting too fast? We don't want to be blind to the world's trouble. But we don't want to be consumed by it either. So, what if we just, each one of us, do our little bit? What if we just determinedly and consistently do our own little bit of Good?

• Make a wholesome meal for your family. Safety and caring in our own homes matters.
• Read. Expanding our perspective and thinking our own deep thoughts is grounding.
• Believe. Aligning ourselves with authentic, thoughtful, experiential Goodness takes an effort of heart and mind.
• Work at doing the good you do. Watch for opportunities to act justly and compassionately. This is no time for us to be lazy about this stuff.
• Listen for the story beneath the story beneath the story: it's easy to dismiss and to judge when we're not listening to each other. We're all in this together -- whether we like it or not.
• Just be. Take a breather from the glut of information and streaming and hope-bludgeoning media. Be with people you love; be someone people want to love. The truest, strongest, most vibrant you (you come from innocence). You are enough.

Keep it up!

Everything is (probably) going to be okay. If you do your small bit, and I do mine, odds are good that love will win the day. Let's take care of each other, care for the earth, and companion the vulnerable -- we'll make it through with Goodness intact.