Fighting despair with hope

I think about it every day: There is a nuclear disaster going on in Japan. I can not even begin to imagine the feeling of fear that the Japanese must be having right now. Radioactive iodine from this disaster has been found in rainwater and the air in the United States. I wonder should my family’s life continue on the same as before? I wonder if it is okay to walk in the rain, to dig in the mud, eat leafy greens or to drink steamed milk after playing out the cold? I make decisions based on intuition and the small amount of information I can gather from various sources reading news articles and checking my states Dept of Health website. I wonder if my neighbors and friends are thinking about this as well? I am afraid silence on this topic will keep us isolated, fearful and falling into despair.

I am trying to create my own pedagogy of hope.

Pedagogy of Hope:

Love

Enjoy chickens wandering across an urban side street slowing traffic

Savor fair trade chocolate

Be in touch with family

Invite neighbors into conversations, to share food

Play

Pay attention to each tree blossom and flower bloom

Notice the Sun and that one less layer of clothes

Be grateful for the rain nurturing the soil, watering baby plants

Read where each item of food comes from

Smile at Babies

Sing and Dance

Enjoy and outreach to friends

Talk to strangers by smiling and even talking in the elevator

Read YES magazine

Organize with others to create social change

Listen to the words your child babbles as they fall into sleep.

Two days ago one of my children went through every word he knew before falling to sleep...starting with mama, dada, up, down, dump out, ...continuing for a half hour until he got to his new word, "rainbow" and shortly thereafter fell asleep...this is what makes me hopeful.