How I am coping with these challenging times

We are all going through really hard times. Terrifying times if we’re honest. Some are looking the other way, hoping it goes away, but many are paying attention and it’s extremely alarming and overwhelming. We’ve been hit with another global shock, and it takes time to settle into a new reality, especially with such horrifying consequences on the table. 

I don’t know everything and certainly don’t pretend I do. But I work hard to understand what’s going on, taking on board the really big stories and trying to make sense of them. To do this, it does have a toll, but I wanted to explain how I cope with the information deluge, as well as the mindset that keeps me going – most of the time. 

I just hope this is valuable for anyone who is struggling right now. 

Some articles referenced

Ukraine war 'catastrophic for global food' - BBC News

Ukraine crisis: how you can help from the UK by donating cash and supplies | Charitable giving | The Guardian

The Anti-Dollar Axis | Foreign Affairs

Climate crisis: Amazon rainforest tipping point is looming, data shows | Amazon rainforest | The Guardian

How Much Will the U.S.’s Oil Ban Hurt Russia? - The New York Times (nytimes.com)

If you want to keep an eye on my Weekend Reads, I publish it every Saturday here https://andreatedwards.com/.

To get in touch with me, Andrea Edwards

Websites https://andreatedwards.com/ and https://uncommon-courage.com/ 

My book Uncommon Courage, An Invitation mybook.to/UncommonCourage

And the workbook mybook.to/UncommonCourageAction

And my Facebook Group Uncommon Courage https://www.facebook.com/groups/442905877003333 

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To get in touch with me, all of my contact details are here https://linktr.ee/andreatedwards

My book Uncommon Courage, an invitation, is here https://mybook.to/UncommonCourage

My book 18 Steps to an All-Star LinkedIn Profile, is here https://mybook.to/18stepstoanallstar

Transcript

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Hello, my lovelies. It's Andrea Edwards. Welcome to Uncommon courage. Today, I just wanted to have a bit of a chat. Two nights ago, I was flying back from Bangkok and had a really lovely weekend with a group of ladies. And we were celebrating and honoring one of the one of the women in our midst who who will be leaving us shortly. And it was great because I stepped back from the news for a few days and had a bit of a break. But then I got onto the plane to come back. And it's about an hour's plane journey. And I just sunk into this deep, deep awareness of what's at stake, what we're really dealing with on the global stage. And yeah, it was pretty, pretty big, a pretty big moment. And that happens. Like when I, when I read what I read and consume, when I consume on such a consistent basis, every now and again, I definitely feel the the true repercussions of that. And it's something that I have accepted, even though it's not very pleasant. So it sort of goes in cycles, and I can go for months, and I'm okay, and then bam, and I'm down. And it could be a day, a week a month. And I usually escape into my head, just trying to make sense of it all. But I can't do what I do, unless I accept that as part of the consequence. But I want to share this, I want to share how I can cope with reading so much distressing information, and seem to be okay. So first of all, you've just heard, I do crash sometimes. But the reason I don't crash all the time is because I take the emotion out of it, I really, really take the emotion out of it, I review everything from a very objective perspective. And I think that's, you know, the only way to do it, this is not something I've always done. It's something I've learned to do, nobody taught me to do it. It's just something I've worked out. And that's why I want to share it with you. If you can read the news without emotion and just try and take on board the facts and try and look across all of the different perspectives, it makes it a lot easier to take it on board. So in a situation that the world is facing right now. What I'm interested in is all of the potential variables. I'm trying to understand the bigger picture. So I'm not just looking at the war in Ukraine, I'm trying to understand what that looks like if it rolls out. So when I came back, having gone through the process of understanding and I was saying to my husband, are you ready to pack bags and move quickly? Should we be looking at having cash in our safe should this is the potential situation that could be coming our way. But it doesn't mean that he's what is coming our way. But I think for me personally, I think I like to be sensible. So it's been a really interesting few weeks from a news perspective, not from a horror perspective, because this is a time like no other. It is the scariest time that most of us will ever face. And we still don't know what's going to happen. I've been reading so many different points of view of why this is happening. And there's just not one answer. There's 50 different perspectives. And there feels like there's a little bit of truth in all of them. Some obviously, sound a bit nuts, others are well researched. But I've been looking hard for the experts around the world who I believe have a valuable opinion. And I've been finding some really good people that I've been sharing in my weekend read. So if you have an opportunity go to the weekend reads is a deeper reading section. Some of those some of those people are there, we don't really understand what Putin is capable of doing. He's pulled the nuclear card. We've seen the devastation in Ukraine, we've heard the stories of genocide, and civilians and babies being killed. I mean, we've seen a lot. There's also a lot of fake news, which is circulating. So working really hard to make sure that you're not paying attention to anything that's not true is important at this time. And the best way to do that is to verify across multiple sources. If it's in one place, it's probably not true. Most of the broadcast and broadsheet media are obligated to fact check, not that they all do, but they are obligated to do it. That's, you know, their credibility is on the line. But if it's in more than one place is a pretty good chance that it's true. China's obviously the big unknown in this mix. You know, they abstained in the United Nations, they've been saying some interesting things in the last few days, the UAE have come out against America, and they've got a history of making those calls and getting it wrong. So it potentially could backfire. Gas prices are obviously going up, especially in Europe, and we're seeing the impact of that. We've got 2 million refugees on the move now. And we've had refugee crises in the past in Europe, and it's really almost blown Europe apart. So the Europeans being strong to take on board the responsibility of taking care of the refugees for as long as is needed will be a big part of the success because I know that Putin is hoping that you're can't cope with that wheat prices with both Russia and Ukraine, wheat belt countries, this is a huge concern. And there's an article Ukraine war, catastrophic for global food lots in the BBC. And I really want to encourage everyone to read that it's not just food, it's fertilizer. I mean, there's so many primary products, part of how we eat around the world that come from those two countries. So that is something that really could escalate. And we've seen it in the Middle East before when the wheat prices go up. Yeah, that's, that's when the revolutions start. There's also a whole money thing that's going on, we've seen China offering credit card and bank access to the Russian oligarchs. And to me, this is part of the biggest story, of course, of, of China's increasing dominance from a from an economic perspective, they've been doing it around the world for many, many years. And it's a story I've been monitoring for a long time. And if this happens, the impact on the US dollar on American society will be massive. So there's a new world order at play, you know, and people are talking about the New World Order, we don't know how China's going to play. I always say when China takes its eye off the domestic bowl, it always falls part historically. But I think they'll be playing a much more cautious game. But from a Western perspective, I just think every single one of us not asked every single one of our countries have to get to work on resolving the issues that have been there, the arrogance of the West. And, you know, we, we like to think that we're the good guys, but are we really, so look, we don't know, what the outcomes gonna be, you know, if it gets nuclear, it's not even worth thinking about, right? The best possible outcome is that the Russian population rises up and 5% of the population needs to rise up to have enough numbers to take out the leader or the or the government of the country. Because, you know, this potentially, if everyone plays their part in the right way, you know, it doesn't go beyond Ukraine, because if it goes beyond Ukraine, China gets involved. I mean, we just, it's not even worth thinking about. So it's a big story. It's a big moment in the world. There's a lot that we don't know, we don't understand why Putin is doing what he's doing. We don't understand his intentions. We don't know if he's sane, or if he's not. And there's lots of different conversations about that. So it's very overwhelming. So how can I take that on board without basically putting myself in a state of despair? I always say, well, there's life, there's hope. And, you know, hopefully, the world will wake up to, you know, to what we're really facing, and we'll work out a way to solve it. So believing in the best of humanity is important. I think it's important, it's always been important to me that, like I said, the last couple of days, I suppose that hopes kind of not really been there, we've got to trust the leaders of our country. And I know that's a difficult thing to do, because so many of them have been doing such a bad job for such a long time. But the autocrats have been popping up all over the world, strong men, the, you know, and the world has never flourished with that sort of leadership, it never has. So good news is the democratic countries of the world have united for the first time in a really long time. And so that's, that's really giving me a lot of hope. And, you know, I feel that some of them, not all of them, capable of working out how to navigate these treacherous times, you know, at the end of the day, it might not matter what they do, because they if we do have a man, man at the other end of this, then, you know, anyway, so in the midst of all of this, the second IPCC report came out, it's the second of the third. And the way these work, they will not be another one published until we are beyond the decade that we're currently in. And basically, the message in the report is, we've got this decade to get it right. The focus of the whole world needs to be on the climate emergency. There's an article today that's talking about the Amazon is hitting its tipping point. I read Amazonian expert a couple of years ago saying we'd already hit that tipping point. We've seen the storms in Australia, going through Sydney, after being in Queensland last week. I mean, the Australian Government said it's not time to talk about climate change. It's like a For God's sake, when is it time to talk about climate change? So the one thing I do, and if this is what I really want to share with you, so first of all, step back, take the emotions out of it, try and read as objectively as you can. I know it's not easy to do. But if you can just take on board the information without it sort of getting you into a state of panic or despair or sorrow or whatever. That really helps. And it does take practice. So but I do believe it's a skill you can build because I've scaled it because I've learned it, but the focus has got to be on the climate emergency and in order for us to face up to the client Emergency, we have to transform the entire world and how we do everything. And I don't think this is something that people are really sort of thinking about yet, this isn't little steps. This is big systemic change how businesses are run the global economy, we need to move into the concept called degrowth, universal basic income needs to become a part of how we pay people because there'll be more automation, they'll be more robots, but we need to get rid of many, many of the industries that we're in. And of course, we're a lot of the countries around the world who've been feeding in to this massive growth that we've been experiencing for decades, that's obviously going to put their economies on the line. And I think a lot of what Russia personally is doing is is this panic, because the country depends on the income from its oil and gas. That's just one side of the story. Some people won't agree with that, that's fine. I don't, I'm not saying he because I have all the answers. I'm just sitting here because I'm trying to work it out. But there's a saying where the attention flows, the energy goes. And so the idea is what we pay attention to, we give more energy to. So if we're giving all of our attention to the worst possible outcome, then we're actually guaranteeing that outcome. And I know a lot of people listen to ideas like that and just think they're far too we were in there can't take them on board, but where the attention flows, the energy goes. And that's really what we can do is we can manage our attention, manage what we focus on. And I just really want to encourage everyone to focus on what you want, what is the future that you want for humanity? What does it look like picture in your head, don't be ashamed to put those ideas out there into the world talk about a better future of true equality, true diversity, fix so many of the problems that we've got right across the world, there's so much suffering on the back of our global economy. You know, it's so many women suffered, so many men suffered, and children, I mean, 50% of the world's refugees have children, there's so much suffering in our world. And it's based on the economy that we built. And for some reason, we keep wanting to hold on to it. And I actually think the future if you can envision it, it's not going to be as busy as frantic. We're not going to have as much stuff. But if we can get it right, and if we can do it in time, life will be better for all, but it's a real change. And I know that so many people are so cynical, and they've just lost hope, with the possibility that this could even happen. But what can it why can it happen, we've got some massive challenges to face massive. And we really do need to create a very, very different world. But no matter what the geopolitics look like, like, people are talking about 20 years down the track what's going to be going on in China and Russia. And I'm like, if we don't get our response to the climate emergency, right, 20 years time, we'll all be huddled in a small part of the world, because that's the only place that will be livable for humanity, because the rest will be too hot or flooded. You know, Thwaites Glacier is expected to crack off in the next three to five years. This IPCC report said, The impacts are happening harder and faster than the scientists imagined. And people who've been paying attention to the climate crisis have known that for a long time that it's happening harder and faster. So you know, this is on our doorstep. This is the crisis humanity faces. Now we're going to have more than half the world's population are living in areas with climate crisis is going to prove a big challenge. We have to focus on our earth on the health of our Earth, so that it can continue to sustain us, and all this other stuff that's going on. I mean, it's unbelievable to me, that this is happening right now. I think that's probably the biggest challenge is the shock. This is not the time for grievances, this is not the time for you aren't paying enough attention to me, this is not the time for protecting your assets. Because you know that renewable energy is going to be on the table in a bigger way very, very soon. If countries have built their entire economy of the back of something that needs to go, then those countries need to be looking at the person who made the decisions to do that. It's a very, very, very difficult time. Take care of yourself, if you can't deal with the news. Don't if it's just too hard, obviously, parents, we're having some really challenging conversations with our children. I'm trying to fill my children with hope for the future. I'm talking about what the future could look like, if we got it right. That's what I talked to them about. If we can get it right. But we've got to get rid of the cynicism. You cannot move into a place of hope for the future. If you are feeling hopeless, and down. And if you've given up you're in despair, you can't. So if you can just try and move your mindset into remember where the intention flows, the energy goes, move your mindset into the future that you think we can Create together as a unified world, because that is actually the only opportunity that we have to come together. And to work it out together with 5050 representation men and women, all cultures, or diversity, we need everybody's voice at this table, because the challenges that people are facing in the world are already here. And we don't have to look very far to see it. I just wanted to share how I'm feeling. Because these last couple of days have been hard. And I want to be having conversations with my husband, are you ready to pack up and move quickly? Where would we go, we've got options, we can go to three places for actually many, many people don't have those options. But if we focus on the worst possible outcome, it will just make you feel that you can't do anything, you'll be frozen in the fear of the possibility of that outcome. We're not there yet. So that's not put our minds there yet. Because there's no benefit to doing that. It's a future thing. And we don't even know how far into the future it is. So we've got to be in the moment, and focusing on creating the future that we want. And obviously, action is a huge part of getting out of fear, taking whatever action you can, we're seeing all around the world, people doing amazing work, people are driving across Europe to make donations to the Ukrainian community. We're seeing beautiful support for the refugees so far. And I hope that continues. But yes, there has been some racism for a lot of the particularly the African students in in Ukraine, but we're seeing more good. And we have the hero in Zion scheme, we hope he can continue going. And we've got the heart and the spirit of the Ukrainian people. And that message is coming out and the world is here supporting them. And all we can do is literally all we can do. Let's envision the future that we want. And then let's work out how together we can make it happen. So that's how I get through this time. That's how I stay sane. And I just wanted to share it because I know a lot of people are really, really struggling right now. And I figured if I could talk about how I sort of process this big staff, maybe it'll help one other person do that, too. If I can help one person, it's worth doing. So there you go. Tough times, really, really, really tough times terrifying times that I refuse to sit in the terror. And I want to encourage you not to sit in the terror either. Because it is it's a place of inaction and where there's life. There's hope. That's my mantra of the moment. I think that there's life. There's hope. All right, I will check back in with you soon with our lovely guests.