A dear friend's reasons for hope

At a difficult time, being hopeful is all about action.

My friends. It’s been a very tough week for many of us, for many reasons. I know when there is difficult news, and that the world seems to be falling apart in front of our eyes, that it’s easy to lose hope. I feel that, and I imagine some of you are feeling that too.

The last few days I have been thinking about something that my friend Jane Goodall told me on my podcast. She is a very positive person to be around, a fountain of hope, which I wanted to share with you today.

Is hope wishful thinking? Dr. Goodall doesn’t think so. Hope is about action! “I see us as a species,” she told me, “which is at the mouth of a very long, very dark tunnel. And right at the end, there’s a star shining, and that’s hope. But we can’t sit at the mouth of the tunnel and wonder when that star will come! No, we have to roll up our sleeves and we have to crawl under, climb over, work our way around all the obstacles that lie between us and the star.”

Dr. Goodall gave me four reasons that she’s hopeful for the future…let me tell you what she told me.

Young people

“They are more aware and they are taking action…they are not just thinking of problems, they are actually solving them.”

Intellect…also known as our brains!

“We haven’t used our intellect wisely. Many people are just not using their brains well. But we have so much potential!”

The resilience of nature

“With time and help, nature can always come back. It may not look the same, but things can once again become beautiful.”

Our indomitable spirit

“I’m hopeful for the people that tackle problems that are seemingly impossible and won’t give up.”

Dr. Goodall, you are so smart! I want to add one more that you talked about as well, so that we have FIVE reasons to be hopeful.

Community

There’s an old saying that I love…when we run alone, we run fast, but when we run together, we run far. Too often we are working in our own spaces, trying to get as much done as we can without the distraction of the people around us. But in fact, the people around us aren’t a distraction…they are our support network. If we see ourselves as part of a wider community of collaborators, of cooperators, of partners…we will run far.

So my friends. I hope this gets you into a more hopeful place to start the week. I know things might seem dark. But we are resilient, we are indomitable, and we have a strong community around us. Young people, old people, each and every one of us have enough empathy and humanity and compassion in us that we can reach that shining star, however we get there.

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I have one more example of hope I want to share. A few years ago at the beginning of the pandemic we were all very worried…it was a time when hope felt far away. My daughters and I, since we were in quarantine together, started to do these little cooking videos we called Recipes For The People. Well, the first three of them we did with the music of one of my favorite musicals ever written, by one of the most genius people who’s ever lived…yes people, Hamilton by Lin-Manuel Miranda.

chefjoseandres

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I think Lin would satisfy Dr. Goodall’s reasons to be hopeful…he was a young person when started working on Hamilton, using his intellect, his indomitable spirit, and the community he had around him to bring to life an old story for a new generation. Lin, I know he gives me hope. And I wanted to tell you all that I am going to be in conversation with him next week in New York, at Mercado Little Spain. Maybe you want to come and share in our celebration of hope?

Thank you my friends. Please look after each other, after yourselves, after your communities. Treat strangers like you treat your own family and friends. Let’s continue to build longer tables, not higher walls.