Canoe Talk 6: Wonder And Activism

Canoe Talks is a video series of unconventional wisdom in an unconventional setting designed for mindful change-makers – entrepreneurs, creatives, leaders, business owners, and professionals.

Jeffrey, with Tracking Wonder, and a new Canoe Talk. Let’s talk about activism, the impact you can have in the world, and wonder.

In 2018, David Hogg and his friends were traumatized survivors of the Parkland High School mass murders in 2018. And since then, David has been a persistent activist on issues related to guns, schools, and mental health. But as you might suspect activist work can be soul-crushing. There’s a long arc of impact.

So how do you keep going when you can’t see what impact you’re going to have?

Well, in 2022, David and others drove out to Uvalde, Texas, and they met with the parents and survivors of the horrific Rob Elementary School, mass murders. And they were overwhelmed with grief, understandably.

So you know what they did?

Hogg and his colleagues drove that night to the South Texas desert, where the stars just gleamed in the bright, Texas sky. And he told NPR,

“I used to tell myself that things like stargazing would be really dumb to do because they’re so unnecessary, and not efficient.”

And then he said, “but I realized that those moments are some of the important ones most important ones in the work, because we have to sustain ourselves, and make sure that we aren’t just constantly exposing ourselves to the horrors of gun violence and its aftermath.”

“We can have friends in this work we can make a movement that is joyful, and hopeful.”

So you know, the sky in New York was recently raining particles of wildfire debris recently, and frankly the world is weird.

And still we rise and we wonder, not because we can, but because we must.

Not because wonder is a privilege for a few but because wonder is a birthright of everyone because wonder is a necessity for our species evolution and our planet’s survival.

Because we are here not just to wonder, but to be in wonder especially amidst wildfires, shifting economies, or workdays of back-to-back meetings.

So step outside, look up, and crack open again to what’s possible. So much is.

If you’ve enjoyed this video, share it with somebody who needs it. And check out Tracking Wonder’s free resources to stay elevated.

Thanks for running with me.