We were all hanging in the kitchen one morning talking about life. I handed her a decaf coffee as she explained how thinking about the problems in the world drove her nuts.
“But I just can’t get over what we’re doing to the animals!”
I was smiling ear to ear, not from lack of sympathy for what she was saying, but from watching Oli prepare a counter (I always love watching Oli and my friends talk to each other).
“I’m just trying to get you to see that there’s a way to zoom out and look at what’s going on from a different perspective. Yes, we can look at what we’re doing to the planet as being unfair towards animals. But, can you also see that there’s a bigger story here than the one you’re obsessing over? And that this story is not just a story from one limited human’s perspective of what’s going on in the world--which is a picture that is never fully accurate--but it’s a universal story that includes all cosmic events across all universes? Because if you can see that point of view, you have to admit that in some f*cked up way, things are already the way they should be.”
He was picking up steam.
“Now, if you want to hold onto your point of view, that’s totally fine. But understand that holding onto a point of view that doesn’t include the full story will produce outcomes that don’t have the right solutions. Because the fact is, whatever is happening in the world is supposed to be happening based on the evidence that it’s happening! If something weren’t supposed to happen, it wouldn’t happen.”
This conversation went back and forth for a while, perhaps for two more cups of coffee, and by the end we were each satisfied with the balance we struck between letting the world be the way it is and standing up for what we perceive to be injustice. See, Oli’s point wasn’t that standing up for injustice is wrong. His point was simply that it doesn’t need to be motivated by sadness, anger or depression, and that when we find ourselves down about the state of the world, there’s still something we’re not yet understanding about how existence functions.
Many of us feel responsible to stay up to date with the news and to do everything we can in the face of injustice, even if it means it makes us angry, depressed or sad. This article takes a look at why we get so bent out of shape when we witness injustice and what the best course of action is if we feel unresolved about the state of the world and our place in it.
It’s Normal To Be Alarmed By Injustice
We have an intuitive sense that what we are at the very core of our being is essentially free, and that what other people are at the very core of their being is that same freedom. It’s natural to want to preserve and respect freedom for ourselves and others. For this reason, we are designed to be alarmed when we see injustice--in other words, when we see freedom being eclipsed.
The moment we notice injustice it is natural for us to become alarmed and motivated to do something about it. But that doesn’t mean we need to be overwhelmed.
Why We Feel Depressed, Sad & Angry About The World
It may sound politically incorrect or perhaps even insensitive, but the ultimate truth of the matter is that everything is already the way it’s supposed to be simply because it’s already the way it is. To feel depressed, sad or fearful would be to negate reality as it is and to impose our version of the world should be the way I want it to be onto reality.
Not only that, but we also have to notice the limitations of us even being able to understand what’s going on in the world with any sort of accuracy--From whose perspective are we viewing the world’s problems? In what period of time do those problems arise? What are all the factors that contribute to those problems? And what about similar problems that are happening outside of us knowing about them that we haven’t gotten sad, depressed or angry about simply because we don’t know they’re happening?
If we agree and consent to freedom (as we do when we are alarmed by injustice), we must understand that at the level of ultimate reality--where everything is a cosmic event that has not yet been divided into right and wrong, good and bad--whatever is happening is already the correct thing to be happening. That’s freedom. We must respect of the freedom of reality to be the way it is.
Where we are thrown off course is when we start to feel depressed, sad or fearful of injustice. Those feelings are telling us that we are viewing the world through the prism of duality---right and wrong, good and bad. What we are missing during this time is respecting the freedom of reality to be the way it is--injustice and all. And so, if we actually want to do something about the injustice we perceive in the world, the best course of action is to follow our interests rather than our sadness in addressing the damage that we see.
Following Interests
When we find ourselves sad, angry or depressed about the state of the world, we are failing to respect the freedom of reality to be the way it is. But that doesn’t mean that we need to stop fighting the good fight. We just need to do it with different intentions.
So how do we change our intentions (especially since we don’t choose our thoughts)? It can’t be by trying to talk ourselves into new patterns of thinking and perceiving. Lasting change happens when we take the time to contemplate that which we don’t understand, and we know we don’t understand something fully when we are not at peace with it yet. So if we find ourselves angry, depressed or sad about the world’s affairs, there’s a piece of understanding that’s still eluding us. And it may have something to do with the nature of good and bad things happening all of the time and that there really are no such thing as good and bad things at the level of cosmology. Good and bad doesn’t exist until it’s registered by thinking.
Although we may each have an intuition that this is the way life works, we may resist letting it sink in because we’re scared that now that we know this, we will become complacent and lazy. I mean, if things are going to be one way or the other regardless of what I do, why would I work to try and improve anything?
This is also a misunderstanding. When we see ourselves as helpless against a larger force that is willing the movement of the universe, we put ourselves at a distance from the universe. We separate ourselves out and say: Well, the universe is doing it’s thing over there, and I’m over here helpless to do anything about it. To think this way is to negate the universe’s very own presence in us and as us, and to negate our own agency and freedom. We are part of this universe, we don’t stand at a distance from it. And so to see ourselves as helpless is to believe ourselves at a distance from something that we cannot be at a distance from.
So what should we do? Simply put: We should follow our interests.
If I perceive injustice as the animals needing help, and I’m also interested in teaching others about animals, or becoming involved in an animal rescue, or preserving endangered habitats, or fostering dogs who need homes--that’s exactly what I should do. If I perceive injustice in the economic politics of a few owning a lot, maybe I find myself interested in educating kids about economics through music, or wanting to start a worker-owned business. If I perceive injustice in people not treating themselves or each other very nicely, perhaps I’m interested in starting a blog on happiness (woot-woot!) or learning how to communicate in such a way that I’m able to make strangers smile and feel good about themselves in less than a minute. If I perceive injustice in the lack of transparency in the media, perhaps I’m interested in actually not checking the news, or building a news app or hosting a dinner party to discuss unbiased news sources.
Following what we’re interested in allows us to involve ourselves in what feels good, and to meaningfully influence injustice through education or improving the moment-to-moment experience of living, both for ourselves and others. It also ensures that we continue to educate ourselves on what we’re interested in, so that we don’t get stuck in the same thought-loops that generate depression and other feelings that make life a drag.
Actions that are motivated by anger, sadness or depression are likely not going to make the impact we want, will not converge towards peace and happiness in our own lives, and may not even address the problem we are hoping to impact. When we follow our interests, we assume our own power to create and produce change, without bringing overwhelm into the picture.
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