The only way to navigate 2020 is to get real with what you are feeling, so in this episode I explore feelings of hope and powerlessness. The two articles I refer to are:
- New Super-Enzyme Eats Plastic Bottles Six Times Faster
- How Big Oil Misled the Public into Believing Plastic Would Be Recycled
Highlights include:
5:05 – JM: “I find it very interesting that our society allows expression of so very few feelings, even in private. And frankly, what expression we’re allowed is often very gendered. So I ask myself, who does that benefit?”
5:30 – JM: “Change is impossible when people are numb. So I think it’s very, very important that we start feeling what we’re feeling.”
8:50 – JM: “The very worst problems of our time, like plastic pollution, are completely solvable if we are able to face them. But it’s super hard to face something that makes you feel powerless. It seems too overwhelming. It feels impossible.”
14:30 – JM: “This year feels insurmountable but it isn’t, it’s showing us what is going on. And it’s giving us an opportunity. It’s forcing us to go still and deal with all of these feelings. And I literally mean just express them because even just having that extra peace within yourself is going to help you respond differently – and it’s going to help all of us make different choices.”
16:39 – JM: “I think it’s interesting that emotions have been dismissed. They’ve been associated with women and they have been denigrated and they have been denied as something not real. Anyone who tries to express emotion is either considered hysterical or weak. And I think we need to look at who that benefits, who benefits when we numb out our feelings so that we can’t move forward?”
Leading with Health is hosted by Jennifer Michelle. Jennifer has a Master’s in Public Health and Epidemiology and is a certified EMT. As President of Michelle Marketing Strategies, Jennifer specializes in healthcare marketing. She is on a mission to create a healthcare system that actually cares about the patients and the providers.
Photo by Julian Rotert on Unsplash