This is really beautiful and helpful. I am a high school teacher and I am continually attempting to put out the small fires around me. I’m trying to really “see my students” and help build a small community in my classes. It doesn’t feel like enough sometimes, but is what is mine to do. Thanks for your writing.
You're so welcome Ellen. Never underestimate those things you do in classes. I can tell you that the best teacher I ever had was called Judy King. She used to listen to us in show a tells, our questions, our interests. Then she would decorate the walls in her classroom with things we liked. She put up a Human League poster near where I sat because I'd told her I loved the band. That was 4o years ago and I still think about her.
This is a beautiful piece of writing, Karl, and I'm very glad none of your other drafts spoke to you this week. Thank you for putting into words principles and ideas that I have lived my life on but didn't know how to name. I've been an undivider as long as I can remember but in the past few years it's started, for the first time, to feel like a radical take.
The first time I remember the 'world on fire' feeling was in elementary school, doing some drill of getting under our desks in case of nuclear war. I remember thinking, first, getting under our desks does nothing, and second, I cannot do one thing about this. Maybe that's where my deep belief in focusing on my local community and doing small things came from.
I also remember studying in France in my college years, and hearing stories of the ways people found to have moments of joy and community even during the war. Somehow today there's a philosophy that when bad things are happening, it's immoral to be joyful in any way.
With roving gangs of online bullies now being the norm, I appreciate the courage it takes to speak out.
Thank you Kim. It's funny isn't it, how being for conversation and resolution is a radical take these days. But it's amazing how it wins people over. I've started conversations with some people who wrote really negative comments in my Notes and they ended up as subscribers.
I remember those drills too, they made us do them in school too. I had the same thoughts as you about them. Glad we all still here.
Oh my, you have so nailed it Karl. I have been thinking quite of the few of the things you wrote but I now really believe it’s possible for every single person to make a difference. And somewhere along the line we will be joining up in ways we didn’t know were possible too!
Hey there Georgia, I'm glad you think so too. I'm a big fan and believer in us. And I think we have a shot at making this whole thing work for all of us.
This is a hopeful piece; thank you. I've also always loved the word Weltschmerz. German is so great at words sometimes.
Also, the people who claim ape heritage to say we're hard wired for conflict might not know about bonobos, with whom we share just as much DNA as we do with chimpanzees, but who are much more relational and peaceful.
People don’t tho. They don’t disagree with others views but continue the conversation anyway. They don’t. I’ve had friends proudly report to me that they will not relate to people who are not pro Trans. And they say this to me like I should be proud of them . It just crushes me.
they seem so thrilled to be given the right to lord themselves over someone else in the name of standing up for a marginalised group to which they don’t belong and it makes me feel sick cos I think how are those who belong to that marginalised group be better understood by you cutting yourself off from conversations with people
I hear you Djderiva. When people speak up on behalf of groups they aren't in, that's wonderful. But when those same allies cut off everyone who doesn't agree with them, they do that group they are advocating for an injustice. Those allies are cutting off the opportunity for them to stand in rooms where the people they advocate for will never be in, and speak on their behalf.
When people who advocate for LGBTQ+ rights tell me they've cut themselves off, I encourage them to reopen that relationship and get back in there, and speak for us. Because that's a needle they can move that none of us ever can.
This spoke straight to my soul’s compost heap, where fear and awe rot into wisdom.
Weltschmerz? I call it holy heartburn. A sacred indigestion caused by caring too much in a world that keeps serving despair à la carte.
But you’re right. We’re not called to extinguish the whole inferno—we’re called to hose down the fire nibbling at our neighbor’s garden hose, or at least bring cookies while they fan the flames.
Connection is rebellion. Kindness is resistance. And I still believe absurd, impractical love is how we water each other when the sky forgets to.
Thank you for putting a bucket in our hands instead of a blindfold.
Karl, you really have summed it up. It has been quite a week. I like your use of the German word Weltschmerz, it does capture something many of us are experiencing.
Thanks David. What a week it's been. I figured I wasn't alone in the feelings I was having. Weltschmerz is a great word. This is my favorite thing about learning new languages. They often have a term for something we know, but have no name for.
I have found this such a wonderful article to read. The heat, which, unfortunately I can't cope with, the news, despite my best attempts to avoid it have both pulled me downhill this week. Everything has become a struggle, sleep has become interrupted. I'm struggling with deep tiredness and feeling so incredibly low. Hopelessness has begun to creep in and my energy has retreated in the face of it. Reading this has reminded me that there are so many ways to make a difference and that it will pass, whatever it may be on any given day or month! Please keep writing these wonderful pieces in spite of your detractors, because we need more of this right now.
In reading this post I find reinforcement and a surprising alignment to what I have discovered for myself. The idea of kindness as defiance, for instance. Staying in relationship with those you disagree with.
The wellspring I look for is harmony, from which kindness can spring.
Can Substack or some other tool support a way for those of us who wrote on similar topics to ally somehow? My pub (along with Leo Schuman) Old Truck Good Coffee is quite adjacent.
I am reading this the morning after the US joined Israel in bombing Iranian nuclear sites. Holding both the terror of retaliation and escalation of war, last night I went to a comedy show with a friend. Laughing was the best medicine at that moment. Thank you for your insightful post!
Thank YOU for your words. This has encapsulated my thoughts as of late. I believe to create from a place of joy and hope is the best antidote to the ugliness we are constantly bombarded with. Please keep writing. It's spaces like these that help keep the flame alive.
This is really beautiful and helpful. I am a high school teacher and I am continually attempting to put out the small fires around me. I’m trying to really “see my students” and help build a small community in my classes. It doesn’t feel like enough sometimes, but is what is mine to do. Thanks for your writing.
You're so welcome Ellen. Never underestimate those things you do in classes. I can tell you that the best teacher I ever had was called Judy King. She used to listen to us in show a tells, our questions, our interests. Then she would decorate the walls in her classroom with things we liked. She put up a Human League poster near where I sat because I'd told her I loved the band. That was 4o years ago and I still think about her.
This is a beautiful piece of writing, Karl, and I'm very glad none of your other drafts spoke to you this week. Thank you for putting into words principles and ideas that I have lived my life on but didn't know how to name. I've been an undivider as long as I can remember but in the past few years it's started, for the first time, to feel like a radical take.
The first time I remember the 'world on fire' feeling was in elementary school, doing some drill of getting under our desks in case of nuclear war. I remember thinking, first, getting under our desks does nothing, and second, I cannot do one thing about this. Maybe that's where my deep belief in focusing on my local community and doing small things came from.
I also remember studying in France in my college years, and hearing stories of the ways people found to have moments of joy and community even during the war. Somehow today there's a philosophy that when bad things are happening, it's immoral to be joyful in any way.
With roving gangs of online bullies now being the norm, I appreciate the courage it takes to speak out.
Thank you Kim. It's funny isn't it, how being for conversation and resolution is a radical take these days. But it's amazing how it wins people over. I've started conversations with some people who wrote really negative comments in my Notes and they ended up as subscribers.
I remember those drills too, they made us do them in school too. I had the same thoughts as you about them. Glad we all still here.
Oh my, you have so nailed it Karl. I have been thinking quite of the few of the things you wrote but I now really believe it’s possible for every single person to make a difference. And somewhere along the line we will be joining up in ways we didn’t know were possible too!
Hey there Georgia, I'm glad you think so too. I'm a big fan and believer in us. And I think we have a shot at making this whole thing work for all of us.
This is a hopeful piece; thank you. I've also always loved the word Weltschmerz. German is so great at words sometimes.
Also, the people who claim ape heritage to say we're hard wired for conflict might not know about bonobos, with whom we share just as much DNA as we do with chimpanzees, but who are much more relational and peaceful.
https://www.science.org/content/article/bonobos-join-chimps-closest-human-relatives?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email#:~:text=Chimpanzees%20now%20have%20to%20share,with%20us%20as%20chimps%20do.
And I agree, German is an underrated beauty when it comes to words. Some of the ones they have are downright amazing.
Ahhhh!!! This is great! I never knew this! Thanks for the link and the info!
People don’t tho. They don’t disagree with others views but continue the conversation anyway. They don’t. I’ve had friends proudly report to me that they will not relate to people who are not pro Trans. And they say this to me like I should be proud of them . It just crushes me.
they seem so thrilled to be given the right to lord themselves over someone else in the name of standing up for a marginalised group to which they don’t belong and it makes me feel sick cos I think how are those who belong to that marginalised group be better understood by you cutting yourself off from conversations with people
I hear you Djderiva. When people speak up on behalf of groups they aren't in, that's wonderful. But when those same allies cut off everyone who doesn't agree with them, they do that group they are advocating for an injustice. Those allies are cutting off the opportunity for them to stand in rooms where the people they advocate for will never be in, and speak on their behalf.
When people who advocate for LGBTQ+ rights tell me they've cut themselves off, I encourage them to reopen that relationship and get back in there, and speak for us. Because that's a needle they can move that none of us ever can.
Undividing is everything Karl
Timely and topical as always, Karl. Timeless too. Thank you, mate!
thank you mate!
This spoke straight to my soul’s compost heap, where fear and awe rot into wisdom.
Weltschmerz? I call it holy heartburn. A sacred indigestion caused by caring too much in a world that keeps serving despair à la carte.
But you’re right. We’re not called to extinguish the whole inferno—we’re called to hose down the fire nibbling at our neighbor’s garden hose, or at least bring cookies while they fan the flames.
Connection is rebellion. Kindness is resistance. And I still believe absurd, impractical love is how we water each other when the sky forgets to.
Thank you for putting a bucket in our hands instead of a blindfold.
Still reckless. Still hopeful.
You are so welcome Aleksander. I love that phrase "Holy Heartburn" too.
Thank you for enriching my life with these conversations.
It is my great pleasure Delana. thank you for reading them.
Karl, you really have summed it up. It has been quite a week. I like your use of the German word Weltschmerz, it does capture something many of us are experiencing.
Thanks David. What a week it's been. I figured I wasn't alone in the feelings I was having. Weltschmerz is a great word. This is my favorite thing about learning new languages. They often have a term for something we know, but have no name for.
Thanks for introducing all of us to this word. Yeah I think a lot of us are feeling similar.
“The world is always on fire. Sometimes the flames are higher. Yet people build anyway. Dance anyway. Hold each other anyway. And protest anyway.”
I can literally imagine a picture of world burning and people living their lives, holding, dancing, protesting.
This gave me goosebumps. ✨
I have found this such a wonderful article to read. The heat, which, unfortunately I can't cope with, the news, despite my best attempts to avoid it have both pulled me downhill this week. Everything has become a struggle, sleep has become interrupted. I'm struggling with deep tiredness and feeling so incredibly low. Hopelessness has begun to creep in and my energy has retreated in the face of it. Reading this has reminded me that there are so many ways to make a difference and that it will pass, whatever it may be on any given day or month! Please keep writing these wonderful pieces in spite of your detractors, because we need more of this right now.
Karl, thank you! So happy that I just recently discovered “Undividing”. Looking forward to reading back and forward!
The lovely comments and your thoughtful responses, help a great deal too. Best - from a new fan.
In reading this post I find reinforcement and a surprising alignment to what I have discovered for myself. The idea of kindness as defiance, for instance. Staying in relationship with those you disagree with.
The wellspring I look for is harmony, from which kindness can spring.
Can Substack or some other tool support a way for those of us who wrote on similar topics to ally somehow? My pub (along with Leo Schuman) Old Truck Good Coffee is quite adjacent.
I loved this. Thank you for the insight and perspective:)
I am reading this the morning after the US joined Israel in bombing Iranian nuclear sites. Holding both the terror of retaliation and escalation of war, last night I went to a comedy show with a friend. Laughing was the best medicine at that moment. Thank you for your insightful post!
Thank YOU for your words. This has encapsulated my thoughts as of late. I believe to create from a place of joy and hope is the best antidote to the ugliness we are constantly bombarded with. Please keep writing. It's spaces like these that help keep the flame alive.