Hope and Joy

Writing this blog has taken a back seat in my life the last four weeks. A month ago I heard about the Canadian Pact for a Green New Deal, and signed an online pledge to support it. After doing so, I received an automatic email asking if I would consider organizing a town hall in my community to generate input for the Green New Deal.

I thought, “Good idea, someone should do it.”

But the request nagged at me. If not me, who? And if not now, when?

I have been inspired by Greta Thunberg, the 16 year old Swedish student who has been pressuring politicians to act on climate change.

Greta Thunberg outside the Swedish parliament, with her "School Strike for Climate" sign. Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Greta_Thunberg_4.jpg. Photographer: Anders Hellberg

Greta Thunberg speaking to politicians in the UK. Source: https://deframedia.blog.gov.uk/2019/04/24/greta-thunberg-meets-uk-politicians/

If Greta, a quiet and determined young person can respond to the call, what was stopping me? So I said “yes” and committed to hold a town hall in Salmon Arm on May 27.  The next two weeks saw a lot of work. Two other people, Julia Beatty and Neil Caves, offered to help with the planning and organizing, and the local United Church stepped up to offer support through its GreenSpace Initiative.

By the day of the event, almost 60 people had RSVP'd through the website that they were coming. I began to worry that the event could turn into a shambles. I wanted a participatory model where people could talk and provide their input, but with so many people, would it become chaotic? Or perhaps it would be inundated with protesters who questioned the Green New Deal model, or doubted climate science?

The day of the event I spent some time letting go of my fear that I would be unable to manage the evening. I focussed on love, and physically imagined love coming into my cells and replacing the fears that I had. After all, it was love and hope that had challenged me to do this.

We had line-ups of people to get in the door that night, and in the end, over 120 people signed in.

I gave a short presentation about the Pact for a Green New Deal, and the rest of the evening was spent in discussion and participatory activities.

I was so impressed with how seriously people took up the questions that we gave them: "What do you want to see in a Green New Deal?" and, "What don't you want to see in a Green New Deal?"

Thirteen groups discussed the Green New Deal in Salmon Arm, May 27 2019

Summarizing discussion using post-it notes and sticky dots

Since May 27 Julia, Neil and I have been analyzing the results. On June 5 we uploaded the data to the national website, and sent a report out to participants who provided email addresses. 

I also was approached by Lorne Reimer, a local editor and publisher of the publication Friday AM, to write a monthly column for his paper, and write about the Green New Deal town hall in the first column. 

I hesitated to accept the invitation, because I write this blog when I am inspired, when nature, or art, or beauty, finds me and gives me wonder. I do not want to lose that wonder. Then I realized, that hesitancy is coming from a place of fear. And I have chosen love over fear. So my first column appears in print today (www.friam.ca); it has the same name as this blog, Shuswap Reflections. 

Feedback after the town hall has been very positive. People have told me that having an event where a community of people shared their concerns and visions has given them a vehicle for hope. And that gives me hope.

I will continue to write this blog, and speak of joy where I find it.

A moment of wonder earlier this week - a western painted turtle laying eggs on the foreshore trail. Turtles have been on the planet for over 200 million years.

I close with two quotes: these words from Alice Walker:

"Activism is my rent for living on the planet", and Wendell Berry,

"Be joyful though you have considered all the facts."