Please do not despair

Please do not despair.

If you’re worried about bigotry, it’s time to be an example of integrity and respect.

If you’re worried about people living in poverty, it’s time to look in your cupboards and share what you don’t need.

If you’re worried about the NHS, it’s time to do as much as you can through local lobbying and self-care.

If you’re worried about a government that lies, it’s time to wholeheartedly commit to practicing truthfulness in your own life.

If you’re worried about hate, it’s time to love deeper, and hold your loved ones closer than ever before.

We have more agency and power than we give ourselves credit for. Greta is right, we can’t rely on governments to do the right thing. But we can rely upon ourselves. We can be examples of hope, inspiration, kindness and compassion. This is what it really means to take back control – to focus on the here and now on what we can influence: our own thoughts, our own words, our own actions.

Please don’t succumb to personality bashing or finger pointing. Surely, that’s why many of us voted the way we did – to resist language and policies of the ‘other.’ Now is the time not for despair, but for a personal commitment, a family commitment, a community commitment to lead by example.