Hell in a Handbasket: A Traveler’s Guide to Living in Uncertain Times

Just as spring arrives, just as the pandemic recedes and life begins to look a bit brighter, Vladimir Putin.

Seriously? Two insane years of Covid, massive political and social upheaval, The Great Resignation, spiraling inflation, and now a globally destabilizing war in Europe. Toss in personal life struggles and you have the perfect recipe for total overwhelm and massive check-out.

The news feels so dark that I began to wonder, yesterday morning upon waking to war in Ukraine, whether finding the money to pay for my son’s college tuition is going to be an issue after all. I mean, in a world going to hell in a handbasket, what really matters? 

Feeling overwhelmed by it all and full of anger, sadness, grief and fear for the world, I retreated to an evening of numbing with Netflix where, out of nowhere, an answer to my overwhelm appeared in the form of a television oracle. A character on a show I was watching was talking about Tikkun Olam,  a Hebrew phrase that means, “to repair the world.” 

I listen to oracles, so I immediately looked into this. At the risk of over-simplification, the basic premise of Tikkun Olam is that the world is broken, and it is our job to repair it. The way we do that is with purposeful action. In Jewish tradition, for example, it’s said that if you visit someone who is sick, you take away 1/60th of their suffering. This is an act of Tikkun Olam. It is behaving and acting constructively and beneficially.

This is the answer to overwhelm. This is the antidote to darkness and despair. 

Tikkun Olam works whether you’re spiritually inclined or a devout atheist. It’s a directive, a call-to-action, a guiding star. Yes, humanity is broken, but we heal it with each and every act of repair. Gandhi said this when he called on us to, “be the change we wish to see in the world.” The Dalai Lama exemplifies this when he says that, “[his] religion is kindness.” The Apostle Paul said it when he wrote, “Be not overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” Jesus the Christ spelled it out so there wouldn’t be any confusion: feed the hungry, care for the sick, clothe the naked.

This isn’t about being virtuous or nice; it’s acknowledging the reality that what you do for one, you do for all — because we are all connected. By now this should be painfully obvious. Whether you understand this connection as spiritual or practical makes no real difference: the bottom line is that what we do to the earth, we do to ourselves. What we do to others, we do to ourselves. Our actions reverberate around the globe. We are all made of the same atoms, breathe the same air, live on the same earth. Therefore, an act of war or an act of compassion changes the whole system. It reverberates beyond what you see. You change and elevate yourself and the world with each and every act of love.

But it requires action.

Love is a decision following by a hundred meaningful actions. 

It’s easy to feel deluged, to be overcome with fearful thoughts and swept into depression or paralysis. I know. The world is broken. But it’s also very beautiful, and we have the remarkable privilege of choosing what sort of imprint we want to leave, whether we want to be part of the problem or part of the solution.

What you do matters. It is, in fact, what matters most.

How to provide direct help for our fellow human beings in Ukraine:

mercycorp.org (helping with food, water, sanitation, restoring war-damaged homes)

savethechildren.org (providing shelter, hygiene kits, food, cash transfers to children and families)

wck.org (providing hot meals to refugees fleeing the conflict on the border with Poland)

kyivindependent.com (independent media organization providing a window into what is happening)

projecthope.org (sending medical supplies and health care to refugees)

care.org (providing women, girls and elderly with food, water and hygiene kits; currently has a Ukraine Crisis Fund providing psychological support, recovery and cash assistance)

KATE INGRAM, MA, CSBC, is an award-winning author, counselor and Self-Belief Coach specializing in loss, grief, major life transitions, and over-coming self-doubt. Find out more at kintsugicoaching.com or write her directly at Kate@kintsugicoaching.com