Don't Give Up!

Ancient Wisdom for Modern Problems

Do you ever just want to give up?  If you spend more than five minutes scrolling on social media, or the cesspool of your local news, you will likely notice your mood sour.  The world is on fire.  Nations are at war.  The economy is dismal.  Churches are corrupt.  We are living through a mass extinction.  Habitats are collapsing.  Everyone I know is deconstructing, or have walked away from their faith entirely.  This seems to be the narrative we are being fed anyway.  We are all so busy and seem equally unfulfilled.  Most people I know are depressed, anxious or just apathetic.  Who has time to dream with all these things happening on a daily basis?  We are just trying to survive.  I guess with everything happening all at once, over and over, it's easy to want to give up.  Don’t throw in the towel just yet.  Hear me out.

As a person of faith, an ardent conservationist, and someone who equally wrestles with doubt and skepticism; I have to admit I feel pretty helpless at times.  When I see the misery around me in the lives of people I love, or even the strangers on the news, I just want to shake my fist at God or the government, or just anywhere at all.  When I see the animals and habitats I love being destroyed for corporate greed or willful ignorance, I find myself choking back tears.  It all makes me so hopeless. Often, I wonder if anything I’ve ever done will make a real positive difference.  Time will tell.

It's easy for us, all of us, to just focus on the negatives.  There are so many to choose from!  So, what do we do?  The short answer is, just keep doing the best you can.  It’s that simple, but that can feel quite complex.  The world is in a state of constant dissonance right now.  Politicians on one hand will profess everlasting faith to elicit a voter response, and on the other hand live completely amoral lives out of alignment with their professed beliefs.  We are being told the planet can’t sustain much more abuse from people jet setting from one climate conference to the other in gas guzzling private jets.  Who can we even believe, and how can we make positive changes amid the ever-evolving problems of the day?  There’s a cliché old adage that says “the easiest way to eat an elephant is one bite at a time.”  Elephants are in decline, don’t eat them, but you get the point.  When there’s a big issue we can’t focus on the enormity of the situation, we have to approach it little by little as we are able. Eventually, we will look back and see how far we’ve come. 

There’s another old saying, one from ancient scripture that I sometimes like to remember, that helps to give me perspective. This particular quote comes from the book of Galatians in the Bible and says, “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”  Every time I want to throw my hands up and walk away from my faith, my mission to help wildlife, or just life in general, I think of that verse.  If I just don’t give up, eventually it will get better.  It’s often easier said than done.  Sometimes that tiny shred of faith is all I have to cling to.  Who doesn’t want to just give up right now with all the bad news floating around us! 

Occasionally, it helps me to think of the little things I can be doing to just make today better.  If even that feels overwhelming, how can I make this moment better?  What is one small positive thing I can do?  How can I help this one person in need today?  Sometimes the route to big change starts with just shifting your focus to the things you can directly affect.  Those things you can touch. Plant a tree today to save the world tomorrow.  Offer a helping hand to a neighbor.  Baby steps.

When people start to wax political, or bemoan the latest scandals on the new cycle, I like to disengage and think to myself “I can’t change these people’s minds on the internet, who in my circle does my life actually impact.”  Then I just put my focus there.  There’s no sense in debating endlessly about the ills of society with people who are equally as lost as you are online.  My quality-of-life increases the less I engage in the comment sections.  Try to find common ground with people outside of the fervor of internet fury.  You may see that we all have much more in common than we are led to believe. 

I think so many of us are just trying to survive and reacting as such.  We are just looking for some semblance of control, and sometimes that leads us down those negative rabbit holes, so we can feel like we matter.  I’m here to tell you, you do matter, but sometimes our opinions don’t.  I have also learned that my doubt and honesty about certain issues goes a lot further than a presumed expertise.  Meaning, if you don’t know something, it can be endearing to just own up to it, be humbled and be okay with being wrong sometimes.  It can often open you up to new understanding and real conversations.  “How could a loving God…”. I have no idea, but I still choose to believe in the good in people and the faith I claim, however imperfect it looks.

When it comes to conservation, and my specific role in making the world a better place, what are the things I can do?  The world may be ending, but what can I do to hold up my end of the bargain?  Much to the chagrin of my lawn of the month wannabe neighbor, I typically don’t cut my yard for the first few weeks of spring.  My lawn is mostly “weeds” according to monoculture enthusiasts.  Every spring dandelion, buttercups, and purple dead nettle bloom all across my front and back yards.  I don’t cut my “grass” until those plants stop blooming.  That usually means the first cutting is a little difficult because the actual grass may be six to eight inches high or so by then.  I don’t mind.  My neighbor kind of minds, but it’s okay he will get over it. 

People often talk about saving the bees, and pollinators at large, and this is one way you can put your money where your mouth is.  I’ve heard a statistic that says bees, and other pollinators account for 75% of the things we eat.  Since natural habitats are being fragmented and destroyed at a historic rate, small changes like these can create safe spaces for wildlife for generations to come.  One bite at a time, you’re saving the world.  You may not be able to stop the fires raging in the rain forest, but you can control the chemicals you use on your own property.  Start where you are.

Your yard doesn’t have to look perfect.  People often over fertilize their lawns and that excess will run off with rain and sprinkler water.  Once that over nitrified fertilizer water gets into local waterways it can create toxic algae blooms.  Your lush lawn could be responsible for killing fish and frogs downstream, simply because you bought a lie regarding what a yard should look like. 

Pollinators will thank you if you scale the biological warfare back a bit.  I leave a few areas in my yard un-mowed most of the year to promote insect life, small mammal foraging areas, and box turtle hideaways.  I also plant wildflowers in the margins around my yard and I have a few fruit trees and shrubs that typically feed wildlife during the late summer. Rethinking what our lawns are supposed to look like goes a long way.  By mowing less frequently, planting shrubs and wildflowers, and other activities, you are not only promoting wildlife but you are cutting down on your use of fossil fuels and thereby saving the planet one yard at a time.  A natural lawn requires less water and sequesters more carbon, thus saving the world, more than a traditional lawn. The state of the world may be overwhelming, and it often can feel helpless to people like us, but conservation starts at home. 

If you’re worried about your friends who feel hopeless, show them love.  The last thing I want to do is preach to anyone or force my beliefs on you, the reader.  If we believe God is love, as Christians like myself do, then we can love others as representatives of Jesus, despite where people may fall on the spectrum of belief.  Just be a good person, it’ll go further than bashing someone with a book they haven’t read.  Most of the reason so many of us have reevaluated our faith is because we were hurt by church folks, sickened by the blatant hypocrisy, or simply just bought a lie about what and who Jesus even is.  If we can focus on the things we CAN change, it feels less discouraging.  If you see someone struggling, don’t preach to them or send endless proof texts from the Bible, just listen to them.  Sometimes that goes further than platitudes and quick quotes.  People just want to feel heard.  We all want to feel loved.

 I have to admit that for me God and nature are inextricably intertwined, and I have a hard time separating the two.  So, for me, loving nature is co-equal to loving God.  This isn’t to say I worship nature, but I am in awe of the landscapes and lifeforms I believe God created.  Hence the back and forth between conservation and spiritual things in most of my writing.  If you believe the Bible narrative in Genesis, then remember we were charged to be stewards of creation and not just pillagers of resources.  We know we can learn about God through His creation.  It’s hard not to feel awe when being present in nature.

So, when you start carrying the world on your shoulders and feel burdened trying to do the right thing, remember not to give up.  Your day is coming.  You’re going to be alright, and if you don’t give up, you’ll see the fruit of your labor. Creating natural habitats in your own yard helps the planet, and can even help your mental and spiritual health as you see all the birds, bugs, and myriad other things that start to use the landscape you create.  It’s hard to be sad watching a mother robin tend to her babies.  You get the idea.  Conservation starts at home, and spiritual formation starts in your heart.  We’ve got this!

The takeaways are this:  You matter, you’re doing good work.  You can’t do it all on your own.  Allow yourself to rest once in a while.  Look for the good.  Look for the beauty.  Most importantly, just don’t give up!

---

Some definitions to consider:

Anthropocene:  The Anthropocene is a proposed geological epoch dating from the commencement of significant human impact on Earth's geology and ecosystems, including, but not limited to, anthropogenic climate change.

Sixth Mass Extinction: Unlike previous extinction events caused by natural phenomena, the sixth mass extinction is driven by human activity, primarily (though not limited to) the unsustainable use of land, water and energy use, and climate change. Currently, 40% of all land has been converted for food production.

Deconstruction:  Faith deconstruction, also known as deconstructing faith, evangelical deconstruction, the deconstruction movement, or simply deconstruction, is a Christian phenomenon where people unpack, rethink and examine their belief systems. This may lead to dropping one's faith all together or may result in a stronger faith.

Galatians 6:9  “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” 

---