Society

A lot of effort goes into avoiding bad feelings. While uncomfortable emotions are generally unpleasant, focusing solely on avoiding them might miss the bigger picture. What if we focused instead on building resilience—the ability to bounce back from difficult emotions and navigate through challenging times with the same effectiveness as we do the good ones?

What if the most revolutionary act in today’s world is simply being a good neighbor? In a time when roughly 75% of Americans with a high school education or less report that they seldom or never attend local community events or meetings1, the simple act of positive contribution might be our most powerful untapped resource.

Humans have accomplished remarkable things throughout our history. Yet today, despite these achievements, we appear to be backsliding while the world burns. We face enormous challenges with little evidence of meaningful progress beyond political and corporate greenwashing campaigns designed to keep consumption—“business as usual”—humming along. Van Gogh’s Starry Night

Photo by Denys Nevozhai Imagine a technology so destructive that it kills 1.3 million people annually, consumes vast portions of our cities, and contributes significantly to climate change—yet we’ve designed our entire society around it. This isn’t science fiction; it’s the reality of our car-dependent world.

I was recently trolling someone on Reddit, and in a brief (and regrettable) fit of passion I made a remark only I could love about “transcending the bullshit”. I have often repeated that I intend to one day publish a book titled “Everything is Bullshit”, in honour of the late David Graeber’s Bullshit Jobs, but extending to pretty much all facets of society.