Start, Stop, Continue

My friend and neighbor, Christie Hardwick has recently released a book.  THE ABSENCE OF LIGHT. About how we move forward in this difficult time in our country and the world.  She basically asks the reader three questions;  What do you need to START doing?  What do you need to STOP doing?  What do you need to CONTINUE doing?

The challenge she poses to the reader is to assess in what ways you personally are contributing to the difficulties in the world.  It is easy to blame politicians, big money, big Pharma, the Republicans, the Democrats and on and on.  Her question is how to look within and challenge the ways that you personally hold some responsibility for contributing to or supporting what is happening in this world that you don’t like.

I find this empowering —- to look at the small ways that I might make changes that would help me to feel I was living the life I want to be living in the world I want to be living in.  So my responses to her questions are;

What do I want to STOP doing;  I want to get out of the echo chambers where we all moan about “Ain’t it awful”.  I just want to stop participating in those conversations.  I want to try to stop spending my money in places and businesses who have ethics that I don’t agree with.  For instance, I want to scale back my dependence on Amazon.  I want to quit buying coffee at Starbucks.  I want to look at where my money is invested and stop (to the degree that I can) investing in corporations who are exploiting their workers, the worlds resources etc.  I want to stop being hopeless. —- and there is much more - but those are some big ones to begin with!

What do I want to START doing?  The big one is I want to consume less.  I want to know more about and get more engaged in my local neighborhood and political scene.  I want to check my many assumptions about what is right and good and preferable.  I want to be more curious than judgmental about what others think

I want to continue caring about others, staying peaceful, finding joy.

I hope her questions are meaningfu to you too.