I don’t know about you, but I’m fairly well drowning in Weltschmerz this week (of the unironic kind). Humanity really just does seem to suck, constantly finding new ways to disappoint where values like empathy, compassion and mercy are concerned. Honestly, becoming a hermit is a super appealing (and super privileged) option right now.
So, in an effort to abate the storm, I went on a hunt for good news stories, evidence that while The Powers That Be and many Plain Ordinary Folk seem to be just fine with atrocities against humanity, there are still many, many others fighting back, putting on their armor of truth and compassion and standing just as hard and as fast as they can.
Here are some top picks. I hope they ease the darkness on your soul just a little. <3
(Warning: If, like me, you’re tear-happy, you’ll probably be reaching for the tissues.)
After surviving her own experiences with domestic abuse, Dr Sonia Sonia (yes) now lives in Australia with three dentistry clinics. Her focus? Repairing teeth and taking care of the mouths of other domestic abuse victims.
6/10 of the people being awarded this year’s Companion of the Order of Australia award are women.
Despite the sad fact that most (all?) of the campaigners for this are still imprisoned, Saudi Arabia has issued its first ten female driver’s licences.
79-year-old Australian man has reclaimed acres of bush previously choked with invasive weeds and restored them to their natural rainforest beauty.
Not necessarily world-changing good news, but did you know your zippers come with a ‘locked’ and an ‘unlocked’ setting? True facts.
Aussies have raised nearly $4m for brain cancer through this year’s Beanies For Brain Cancer drive (and yes, my son has one procured through his school ;)).
A Chinese couple who has spent 24 years looking for their missing daughter have finally found her. The father even resorted to becoming a cab driver, hoping that one day she’d climb into his cab. *passes around the tissues*.
This one’s a real tear-jerker, but it ends on a high note, reminding us that victims of trauma (in this case, losing a wife to childbirth) have the opportunity to make a difference in the world by later supporting others going through similar kinds of trauma.
On a similar but less tear-jerky note, the positive flow-ons of this wrong-number text are pretty darn heart-warming.
Then there’s doggy blood donors saving other doggy lives in the Australian outback 🙂
And a heartbreakingly sweet reminder about the power of friendship at all ages, a puppy (dog) who saved her family, including the baby, from a house fire, the UN has reported that violence in Iraq has dropped by 80%Â over last year’s numbers, over 60 public schools in Denver will be serving breakfast and lunch to kids over the summer holidays so no one goes hungry, a 10-year-old boy has started a project to keep the homeless people in his hometown warm this winter, home-grown, chemical-free produce is now available (in small quantities, I assume) free in some areas of Australian city Perth, and in the last 8 years, the Mexican jaguar population has increased by 20%, thanks to conservation measures.
You guys. The world might seem like it sucks sometimes, but keep on keeping on: there are plenty of good people out there, all trying to do their best to make the world a brighter, happier, cleaner, healthier, more inclusive place. If the trend of humanity isn’t toward enlightenment, well, it certainly isn’t a bleak spiral into the valley of evil either. There are good times, there are bad times, there are good people, there are bad people. But by choosing to bask in the good for just a few minutes, you’re saving your own mental health.
Take care of yourself, and keep on keeping on: one step at a time, we can brighten the planet around us.
<3
A