Good news for humankind!

From the weeks of August 7 - 20 2023 C.E.

Youth wins climate case against U.S. state of Montana in first-of-its-kind legal ruling

A landmark ruling found that Montana violated young people’s constitutional rights to a “clean and healthful environment,” marking the first time a U.S. court has connected the government’s fossil fuel promotion with harm to youth.

India has reduced its emissions rate by 33% over 14 years

Officials have credited a substantial increase in forest cover and schemes promoting non-fossil generation and targeting emissions in industrial, automotive and energy sectors for the sharp reduction in India's emissions intensity between 2005 and 2019.

Brazil’s Amazon deforestation continues to fall dramatically

An analysis of satellite data showed that 500 square kilometers of tropical rainforest were cleared in Brazil’s portion of the Amazon during the month of July, a 66% decline relative to July a year ago.

AI-supported mammography screening saves time & detects more cancer

A new study from Lund University in Sweden has found that using AI resulted in the detection of 20% more cancers compared with standard screening, without affecting false positives.

Indonesia cracks down on imported plastic waste

Faced with an unending stream of unrecyclable waste from wealthy nations, Indonesia has tightened its regulations and has begun to make progress in stemming the plastics flow.

Just being with it

Often, when I'm experiencing something unpleasant - stress, anxiety, shame, self-doubt, etc. - I try to fix it. I try to shut it out or do or think my way out of it.

This basically never works.

The only thing that has ever really worked is simply being with the unpleasant emotion, to allow it, to console it, to not try to fix it at all.

Often, just by being with it, the unpleasant feeling resolves itself almost immediately, as if by magic. All it needed was to be acknowledged and not pushed away. And sometimes, it lingers on. But even when it lingers, my experience of it changes. By being WITH it, I let go of the illusion that I AM it. I get the distance I need to not get swept away in it.

From that distance, I can relate to it like a parent to an emotional child. I just sit with it and hold it in my arms as long as it needs. I make sure it knows that I love it and will always be there for it. I make peace with the fact that these tantrums are an inevitable and even constructive part of the process.

Eventually, just like an emotional child, it softens and relaxes. It feels how OK I am and realizes it is OK too.

Peter Schulte

Purpose & Leadership Coach

Founder & Executive Director, Spark of Genius

he/they

More of Peter's story