Staying Hopeful in Hard Times: A May Day Reflection on Change and Commitment
Happy May Day!
This is a time to honor worker dignity and reflect on how change actually happens. But in a world shaped by ongoing crisis and uncertainty, many of us are left wondering: how do we stay engaged without burning out or losing hope?
What Is May Day?
May Day, or International Workers’ Day, is a day for recognizing and honoring labor movements, worker rights, and the ongoing pursuit of dignity and fairness in our economic systems.
Its history is both frustrating and fascinating, filled with contradictions, competing desires, negotiations, and compromises. But the spirit of the day remains, after all these years, centered on the dignity of workers and the centrality of worker rights.
A Different Way to Think About Change
In the context of our current polycrisis, it’s vital that we think meaningfully about how each of us contributes to shaping change in our communities. Just as May Day evolved from the fight for 8-hour workdays and basic worker protections, each of us has a responsibility to our communities to work for the affirmation of dignity and care.
And this can feel like an overwhelming and never-ending task. So, instead of focusing on tactics and strategies for change, I want to offer us an invitation to consider the posture we bring to this moment.
In 2020, Bruce Springsteen shared with David Brooks one of the most poignant definitions of eldering I’ve ever heard. And what he said isn’t just about eldering: it’s also about change-shaping and activism; about parenting; about staying present to what’s happening in our world.
It’s about how we survive this polycrisis while embodying a sense of what Viktor Frankl called “tragic optimism.”
When you’re young, you believe the world changes faster than it does. It does change, but it’s slow.
You learn to accept the world on its terms without giving up the belief that you can change the world. That’s a successful adulthood – the maturation of your thought process and very soul to the point where you understand the limits of life, without giving up on its possibilities.
He’s inviting us into a posture toward the world of staying gentle with ourselves and the outcomes of what we do, while being fierce in our belief and commitment to change. This is the heart of what I call “gentle change.”
Years ago, I began sharing a line I use to stay grounded in complex and complicated moments: it is what it is…and how can I be present to it in a loving way?
In other words: in this moment, I “accept the world on its terms” – now, how might I remain an active participant in its shaping?
Questions for Reflection This May Day
On this May Day – a day to both celebrate worker dignity and protest the inhumanity of systems that attempt to strip it away – I encourage you to reflect on Springsteen’s words and how they meet you in this moment.
What do you need in order to stay present to what’s happening in our communities and to “accept the world on its terms?”
With your awareness and presence, how might you embody a fierce commitment within your communities to dignity and healing?
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