How to stay hopeful in a world filled with darkness

This week:

• A white man killed two African-Americans after failing two gain entry to a predominately African American church.
• A Trump-supporting madman mailed bombs to prominent Democratic politicians and Jewish-Americans.
• An armed anti-Semite killed eleven and wounded six at a synagogue in Pittsburgh.

I spent most of Saturday crying on and off. It’s almost impossible not to. You keep reading and hearing how the world is coming apart at the seems, how things are getting so much worse, how toxic the political environment is.

Everything does seem hopeless. I get that. But it isn’t. While world events are overwhelming, and the darkness does often seem to be closing in, now, more than ever, those of us who are capable of having and expressing hope have an obligation to do so.

If world events seem overwhelming to you, here are a few ways you can try and draw some hope.

First: Concentrate on the good in the world, not the evil.

As it happened, the day of the Pittsburgh shootings, my family and I were going to an open house at a local Mosque. I did this Facebook live video while I was there:

The conclusion is this: Evil is loud. Good is soft. But there is still more good than evil. In the aftermath of the Pittsburgh shootings, hundreds rallied for peace. Pittsburgh blood banks put out a call for help after the shootings and were overwhelmed with donors. First responders did their job that day, heroically running into the Temple, and likely saving lives while doing so, even while four of their own were injured.

The world may seem broken, but that’s because evil screams and gets more attention. Don’t concentrate on that. There is so much good in this place. You don’t even have to look very hard.

Second: Find what you can control, and do something about it.

One of the hardest lessons for me in government and politics has been learning the limits of governmental power. And no, I don’t mean that in the sense of wanting government to be able to do more. I mean acknowledging that there are simply some things beyond our control. You get into government and politics because you want to help people, and then you realize that you can’t save everyone.

What all of us can do, however, is make a difference in certain areas, and that’s what I am referring to. What are you good at? What are you passionate about? Concentrate on that, not on all the evil in the world. Find where you can make a positive, tangible difference in someone’s life. For me, that’s been mental health and other areas of government and pubic policy I am passionate about. For you, that will almost certainly be something different, but find what it is and go for it.

Don’t give into the hopelessness. Find where you can make a difference, and make it.

Third: It’s okay to unplug and take care of yourself.

You can’t do good without taking care of yourself. Unplug for a few hours or a day or two. It’s okay. Don’t feel guilty. And if that guilt becomes overwhelming, remember: You’re no good to anyone if you burn out.

Fourth: Draw solace from the fact that there are millions of others like you.

I’ll refer you back to the blog entry I wrote a few weeks ago: Millions upon millions of Americans are deeply worried about the world in which we live. That doesn’t change the world, no. But it does create a base of people who agree with you – that things are scary, and that we have to work to make the world a better place.

Finally: Remember the arc of history.

Despite it all, humanity has made more progress in more areas than any of us could have ever dreamed. Progress is not inevitable. It zigs and zags. But, with the concentrated effort of a dedicated world, it does come. Concentrate on that, focus your efforts on the forward momentum of humanity, and we will be okay.