And Now for Something Completely Different

The book Active Hope by Joanna Macy and Chris Johnstone

I have quite a library of books in my house, most of them having something to do with textiles and design, which are the creative areas I am most interested in. I do read the occasional novel, and once in a while some non-fiction, for, as I will readily admit, I don’t have all the answers. This may explain why I am currently reading ‘Active Hope’, a book subtitled How to Face the Mess We’re in without Going Crazy by Joanna Macy and Chris Johnstone.

As the titles suggest, it deals with the topic of the current planetary crisis, global warming, depletion of oil deposits, mass extinctions, and how we, as individuals and as like-minded groups, might deal with those issues in plausible ways without being so traumatized by the scope of the problem that we do nothing at all. BUT, before you stop reading, labeling me as some wack-a-doodle, hippie type, this book has so much to offer about dealing with and achieving success with any problems facing you in life.

After the holidays many of us hit those winter blues and it is sometimes hard to kick it back into gear. One of the first big issues the book deals with is gratitude, with suggestions for beginning a gratitude journal, and including information from scientific research that suggests keeping such a journal can have a ‘profound and reliable impact’ on your mood.

There is a section on creative imaging to help tackle problems big and small. Want to start a search for that new job you’ve been dreaming of, there are techniques that will help you break that sometimes overwhelming process into more manageable tasks.

Yes, it was written to help you work through the process of dealing with global issues, on a personal level or larger, but I found the book very relevant in many other ways. And to save on global resources, check to see if you can borrow it from your library before spending money in a bookstore-unless of course, its one of those Mom and Pop stores that could use your patronage for survival!