With every passing day, it seems our world could self destruct at any moment. Our survival depends on respectful dialogue and finding common ground. Why is that so difficult?
Welcome to the 130th edition of The Sunday Spark, a series with weekly thoughts and highlights, nuggets of learning, and a simple living challenge for the week. Along with the need for common ground, this week’s edition has a couple of solar energy good news stories, my new word of the week, and simplifying life by carrying less stuff.
On my mind this week: Is common ground an impossible dream?
I try to keep things upbeat here on the blog, but I’m not feeling very positive these days. With every passing day, it seems our world is headed for disaster. Finding common ground feels like an impossible dream. It shouldn’t be this difficult.
The shift from we to me
Earlier this year, I read Generations by Jean M. Twenge. The book spoke of the shift that has taken place in western society from collectivism to individualism. It was the first time I’d considered societal differences along those lines.
Very Well Mind offers an excellent explanation of the difference between the two mindsets. Collectivism stresses the importance of community and places great value on unity, selflessness, and altruism. On the other hand, individualism focuses on individual rights and concerns, independence, and personal identity.
The shift in society from collectivism to individualism has turned life into a zero-sum game. In a game where there can only be winners and losers, individuals can’t be happy for someone else’s success without feeling like that success comes at a personal cost to them.
That zero-sum way of thinking fuels feelings of self preservation. Everyone feels they need to line up and pick a side. Winners against losers. Me against you. Us against them. Left against right. Rich against poor.
Sadly, people in positions of power (I hesitate to call them leaders) burn bridges instead of building them—fuelling animosity and hatred and pitting people against each other.
It’s hard to see a positive way forward.
How do we turn things around?
Is it naïve of me to yearn for a world where people lift each other up? A world where we may not agree, but we can at least have a civil and respectful dialogue about our differences. A world where I can be happy for you without feeling like your success limits mine.
If we can’t put our differences aside and start talking—and listening—we will never find common ground.
After all, no matter where we came from, what we look like, or what we believe or don’t believe, we are all human after all. That has to be a good place to start.
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Three highlights of the week
It’s important to celebrate big milestones and simple pleasures in life. Keeping the trend going, here are three highlights and simple pleasures of the week gone by:
- On the drive home from Prince Edward Island, we stopped in Hartland, New Brunswick where we drove across the world’s longest covered bridge. Then we walked across the shortest covered bridge to by some Covered Bridge potato chips.
- On Wednesday evening, I had dinner with three friends and former work colleagues. Our friendship goes back over 30 years, and I hadn’t seen two of them in a long time. It was delightful to catch up on our lives, our kids, and our careers.
- My tomato plants are still producing, despite being neglected while we were in PEI.
Things I learned this week
Life is all about learning. Here are three things I learned this week:
Solar train tracks
One of the arguments against solar energy is that it’s land intensive—but it doesn’t have to be. A Swiss company is fitting removable solar panels between the rails on existing railway lines. Sun-Ways is running a small pilot in the village of Buttes.
Sun-Ways estimates that if solar train tracks were rolled out across Switzerland’s 5,320 kilometres of railways, they could generate enough electricity to power 300,000 homes, or about 2% of the country’s total electricity use.
(Source: Happy Eco News)
Solar panels lead to better wool
And while we’re on the topic of solar panels, researchers in Australia have discovered that sheep who graze amid solar panels produced better wool than those grazing on traditional fields.
Scientists attribute this positive benefit to a couple of factors. First, the micro-habitats created by the shade of solar panels provide year-round nutrition. And, the solar panels offered the sheep a covered place to shelter from both the sun and from storms.
Even better, the sheep experienced no negative health impacts.
(Source: Katharine Hayhoe on Substack)
Word of the week
Wordle did it again. Yesterday’s word was nadir—a word I had never seen before. I did manage to solve it in 4, thanks to a lucky guess.
Dictionary.com offers three definitions of nadir. The first two are from the fields of astronomy and astrology. The third, definition “the lowest point; point of greatest adversity or despair” aligns well with my mood at the moment.
This week’s simple living challenge – Smaller is simpler and smarter
Simplifying life is a big part of living more intentionally. With that in mind, I kicked off the year with 52 ways to simplify your life this year, including a downloadable checklist of weekly tasks.
This week’s challenge is to think smaller and smarter. In everyday life, carrying a smaller purse simplifies life and saves time rooting for things in the bottom of a big bag. And travelling with just a backpack or carry-on suitcase makes navigating airports and train stations easier.
I’d love to hear what you think about any of this week’s topics. Drop me a comment below and let me know your thoughts and ideas.
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How interesting about sun-rail and solar panel sheep. So cool!
I hear you about state of the world. Your point about me versus we is so interesting. I think we have to keep working at it. One of the things that keeps me going is a quote from Gandhi, “When I despair, I remember that all through history the way of truth and love have always won. There have been tyrants and murderers, and for a time, they can seem invincible, but in the end, they always fall. Think of it–always.”
Such wise words, Wynne. We do have to remind ourselves often of the good in the world.
In other solar power news, I was excited to see an article on the CBC about the option to have balcony solar panels in the future. Apparently, you can install them yourself and save up to 30% of your electricity bill. They are being used in Germany and Spain right now and are waiting for approvals to be used in North America. https://www.cbc.ca/news/climate/plug-in-balcony-solar-panels-1.7618883
I saw that too! Brilliant news. Let’s hope we see them here soon.
I don’t think it’s possible to find common ground. People would rather be “right” than work with others. Back in 2015 I told people that we needed to start compromising. They shouted never. Well, how’s that worked out for us 10 years later…
Right! People want everything their own way with no regard for others. It’s sad.
Powerful people running our world aren’t leaders as you said. They just want to divide more and more our societies at their profit. I would like to mention John Lennon’s song Imagine, that we all know I suppose. The lyrics imagine a world of peace and global unity. We are all human as you said, and we all have the same needs.
Yes! I love that song. When I was 18, I studied in France for a summer. I have vivid memories of a Spanish student playing that song on her guitar and all of us singing along. People from all corners of the world—most of whom didn’t speak English—united in a song of peace.
What a thoughtful post, Michelle. I sometimes wonder if the divisions we see are being amplified by the news. In my own circle, I’ve got friends ranging from far-left progressives to hardcore conservatives, libertarians, and anarcho-capitalists. We don’t always agree—on guns, abortion, healthcare, you name it—but we still get along, have great conversations, and even change each other’s minds now and then. Most people I talk to say the same: lots of different opinions in their families and communities, but little hostility.
I used to be part of an ‘intellectual discussions’ group that welcomed diverse perspectives, but when Trump ran for president the tone shifted and it devolved into nonstop rants. I left, and honestly I think that’s part of why I feel more optimistic. I believe most folks are still capable of nuance and respectful debate; it’s just the extremes and absolutists that cause real harm.
And I really liked what you shared about collectivism vs. individualism. Individualism has done a lot of good. It drives innovation, protects personal rights, and gives people the freedom to carve their own paths. But somewhere along the way, we twisted it into a zero-sum game. Instead of balancing self-reliance with responsibility to family and community, we act like lifting others up somehow takes away from ourselves. That mindset has eroded the sense of shared purpose we need, and left us more isolated than independent.
Also, on a more positive note, I love that your tomato plant is thriving despite the neglect. I had a eggplant like that; it grew like a beast even though it wasn’t closely cared for and it’s been a running joke for years!
You make a terrific point about extremists and absolutists, Erin. Sadly social media amplifies those voices and makes it seem like there are more of them than there really are. It’s so important to remind ourselves of that.
Your comment about the plants made me smile. I was never blessed with a green thumb but, in recent years, my plants have been thriving. My daughters call my houseplant collection “the jungle”. 🤣
Oh, “the jungle!”! I love it! We’re staying with my in-laws and it breaks my heart when she throws out gifted plants, so I have my own little jungle of “rescues” doing far better than I would have imagined! 🤣
🪴🪴🪴🪴 “rescues” – that made me smile. 😊
I’m with you…I hear you. It’s very hard right now to summon optimism, but thoughtful sharing — as you’ve done here — makes a difference. ❤️
Thanks Vicki. I live our thoughtful, positive blogging community. It makes it all bearable. Enjoy your Sunday, my friend. 🥰
You, too! ❤️