The world is a mess. And it is full of people telling you what is wrong with it, and who is to blame. And if that is your jam, there is no shortage of people who will be happy to oblige you.

But what really gives me life these days is creating a compelling vision of a better world than the one we have now. A more just world. A kinder world. A world where, as Dorothy Day once put it, it is easier to be good.

We humans are a frugal species, and our brain will recycle stories it knows rather than create new ones. This is even more true when it is stressed. So, it seems self-evident to me that if we don’t like the stories we are currently acting out, we need to create new ones.

That’s what I do.

On one hand, I’m just a writer and independent web publisher. I have been publishing my Monday morning newsletter, Life is So Beautiful, since 2015, where I search for evidence that the world is a beautiful place, in spite of the evidence. I have a blog where I write six days a week about my pursuit of the good life in my context, and that spun off into a Friday newsletter where I share links to everything I wrote that week, as well as links to other cool things I have found.

But really, I’m working to create a vision of the sort of world in which I want to live – one I personally find more compelling than the existing one. One with stories that are more worth telling. One with stories that can help us get off the suicide machine to which our species is currently strapped.

And it is all supported entirely by my readers. By people who want such a thing to exist, and who want to make sure I have the budget to keep it going, and the freedom to do it.

But it’s also a vote – a vote for the sort of world in which you want to live. Sort of like buying a book at an indie bookstore you could get cheaper on Amazon – you do it because the store needs to be supported, or it goes away, and by golly, you want to live in a world with indie bookstores.

Thank you. Seriously. Thank you for supporting my work, and for helping make it free to the public.

Peace and all good,
HH

Header image courtesy of these folks.