“We can choose to be affected by the world or we can choose to affect the world.”
– Heidi Wills
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I’m not sure we can ever not be affected by the world we live in or that we would ever want to be unaffected. But I believe we can control how we react to it and provide more positivity than negativity.
This remarkable scene of bands of changing terrain was from one of our frequent hikes in the Red Cliffs Conservation Area near Leeds, Utah.
I try to be conscious of negativity, but I also struggle with always being positive. So I end up just staying silent. That is the space I find myself in a lot lately. I really admire those that keep that positive outlook going. I know it is largely a matter of separating things you can actually do something about – so I try to focus there. But it’s really easy to get lost in how much is going wrong in the world and trying to avoid apathy but also not letting it consume you.
It’s a tough time to be positive, for sure. I also often stay silent, sometimes making me feel I should do more.
It’s like that oxygen mask briefing flight attendants give on aircraft before takeoff. They instruct you to put your mask on before trying to help anyone else, and these days I often find I have to save my sanity first.
Good metaphor. I’d say I am trying to keep focus on my own O2 supply. But just like I was doing today pulling invasive plants in our yard, I also notice those in the woods out back and realize it is largely a futile effort. And ridding the woods of them is impossible, so the recognition my “oasis” is a fantasy (in more ways than
my yard) is difficult.
Great quote, in my opinion! It is important for me to focus on what I can do, how I react to the world. Having said that I find myself measuring the world to my standards or common sense, which is vastly different than others. I also like your metaphor. I also do not see myself as one who leads the way to change except in the small things I am trying to do in life. I’ll let and support the Greta’s who seem to have that role.