What does your future look like? Do you think like that?
I'm a pretty visual person and if I get down or frustrated I can see the future as pretty bleak. When we see the news and I see the videos my kids are watching I get pretty scared that we'll be living in some dystopian movie where it is dark 24 hours a day and my kids will be drug dealers.
But on the other side of the coin, when I'm feeling optimistic, I can see my future as fairly rose-colored. In my future there will be more community-based businesses, and co-ops that are owned by women/LGBTQ+/people of color. Because all these people know what it is to struggle and they are empathetic toward their neighbors, their business plans focus on helping those around them, not just their profits.
My future emphasizes caring and building skills that we can all use and benefit from. We realize we can't do it all and we give up the pride or shame that holds us back from collaborating with others.
When we collaborate and build each other then we all win. That is the only way trickle-down economics works. When we all have a purpose and are surrounded by people that not only need us but also value our input then we work harder and put more love into the things we are doing.
It's a fun joke to say 'no one wants to work' because it simply isn't true. And I know I am no scholar and am 15 years behind the sentiment that no one wants to work when they're treated like garbage for a company they don't respect.
I came from healthcare, and worked in a hospital for 10 years, with oncology and surgical patients, hoping to use nutrition to help them heal and gain strength. Yeah, well, eventually that was no longer valued. It was how many patients you see, how can you bill to get more insurance reimbursement, and how quickly can you click through this electronic medical charting.
And the patients weren't completely blameless in this, it's not as if they were always open-minded when the dietitians came to help them and provide information about the foods and nutrients that would best serve them. Of course, some patients wanted to eat and do better but had socio-economic disparities that made healthier eating more difficult, or had symptoms or side effects that just made eating in general difficult.
Every aspect of the hospital was a dichotomy. We all, nurses, doctors, techs, PT, OT, dietitians, etc, we all WANTED to help people. The patients WANTED help, but there were so many obstacles between us, the helpers, and those who needed help that by the time we met in the middle, we were all exhausted and burned out that all we could do was the bare minimum. I have no idea how medical personnel made it through the pandemic, they truly are heroes and possibly insane.
And maybe that, the mid '00's, is the dystopia. Maybe now we are coming out of it. Maybe we are headed into the future.
I heard a quote once, that when you look up at the stars and see the Milky Way you are amazed by it, not really able to comprehend that you are also flying in it.
The future must be that way too, we will never know what we are building and how all of these pieces are coming together until after it is done. We literally can't see the forest through the trees.
And as we travel through this forest we have to have faith that as we see things destroyed and all the negativity around us that it is falling and failing so that love and light can break through.
At least that's what I'm banking on.
