A list of good things

for when there's too much overwhelm

I often get caught up in the downsides of life, in what’s going wrong in the world. It’s an easy perspective to slip into. When I drive into the city, I see people who are visibly struggling. Hardship is etched into their faces…in their wrinkles, in their tired eyes. Faces like that are the most immediate reminder that all is not well.

Then, there are the wars raging on in far-off lands. We can’t forget about those. The political maneuvers that we dislike in our own lands. Apocalypse is coming on multiple fronts: the climate, the ai, the collapse of democracy, the “this is how Germany 1934 started”, the internet is devolving into slop, the erosion of our attention spans, the rising rates of depression, loneliness, suicide.

Crises upon crises upon crises. Fentanyl crisis. Literacy crisis. The rise of extremism. Why are we so unhealthy? The erosion of trust in our institutions. (if they want to be trusted they should act trustworthy). And what the heck are the children getting up to online?

It is natural to be interested in what’s going wrong. It is by paying attention to them that we can do something about them. I myself wrote an article about the problems in our academic systems. I wanted to add my voice to the growing number of voices saying “Yes, this is a real problem”. But it was a cynical piece, and publishing it bummed me out.

Today, I offer a palette cleanser.

Let us see, what is going right in the world (at least, in my part of the world, the suburbs):

1. For the first time in history, we have a crazy amount of wealth, and if you have internet and the time and education to read this article, you probably take part in that wealth, too.

2. We have plenty of food. Where I’m from, going hungry is almost unheard of. Not long ago, my mom hosted guests who were down on their luck. They made trips to the food bank and got heaps of groceries. Most people I know have plenty of food and can be picky.

3. People take care of the environment where I am. The hiking trails, the parks, the roads, the sidewalks are kept clean and tidy. People take this seriously.

4. The landscaping in my suburb is well done. When I look at it, I remind myself that someone designed it.

5. I live near a bike trail that I can always just step on out to and take a walk on.

6. Our STEM education is exceptional here. I think it gets a bad rap in the US. Maybe its just the public school I went to that did a good job. They taught us all about the scientific method and hypotheses. When I talk to people who didn’t major in a STEM subject, they seem to have a very good grasp of the sciences. (The opposite isn’t true—people in STEM don’t always have a good grasp of the humanities or the importance of the arts.)

7. The researchers of the past 300 years have done quite a lot of figuring things out and writing them down. And now we get to just read it. They were able to do these things because society supported them.

8. We know how to stay healthy. Exercise and diet and sleep. Back in the days of yore, I think people may have had hunch that these things were important. Now, anyone who’s interested in it can learn about it and follow simple guidelines. A walk a day can do so much.

9. The internet, of course.

10. The new AI tools are really quite something. What would require a consult with a lawyer or an accountant, for example, can now sometimes be done with AI.

11. I sleep in a comfortable bed, and wake up every day and get to choose what I eat and what I do.

12. I live in an area with seasons, and the trees are in bloom and the world is green outside my window.

13. My cat.

14. SubStack. I can just publish whatever I want. It’s kind of amazing.

15. I have the time and the headspace to write, which is something that I have always dreamed of. I remember back in school, I wished I had the time. Now, my moment is here. I am so grateful for this.

I hope most of these things apply to you, too. And if they don’t, I hope they get you to look around and find what’s good in your part of the world.