Hiya writer friends,
A few weeks ago, my husband and I took our 11-year-old son to the dentist for an afternoon appointment. As he sat in the chair, the dentist asked Jude how he was. “I’m very well, thank you,” my son answered. “And how are you?”
“You know,” the dentist said. “I’ve been asking people that question all morning, and this is the first time all day that anyone’s actually asked me how I am. So thank you. I’m very well, too.”
This has been a horrific week for the world, and I don’t need to recap the violence and the brutality we’re all witnessing. It’s easy to feel helpless, to feel like nothing we do or say matters. And for me, over the last few years, it’s become a practice to start where I am, with the people I come into contact with. I can’t solve the climate crisis, but I can make better purchasing and diet decisions. I can’t solve homelessness, but I can help with money and conversation when I see people on the street. I can’t solve the violent actions of others, but I can practice non-violent communication with people I disagree with when I try to talk about it.
Or, like my son, I can ask someone how they are. It’s a tiny thing and it won’t change the world, but for one person on one day it might better the experience of living in it. Sometimes, some days, when you don’t know what else to do, that’s a good place to start.
Cheers,
Natasha