Do the woes of the world get you down? Are daily headlines capsizing your ship? Does it seem like it’s taking too long for the deluge of April showers to clear the way for all those promised and proverbial May flowers? (Unless of course you’re in a part of the world still awaiting rainfall due to climate agitations.)
Well, we’ve got just the pick-me-up for you. Last week, the Skoll World Forum was bustling with innovators and entrepreneurs engaged in the work of “transformational social change” — that is, making the world a better place. We drew lessons in optimism from six individuals in attendance, who shared what gives them cause to be hopeful — why they find themselves smiling in spite of everything. The following answers have been edited for length and clarity.
Ava Duvernay: Don’t let the narrative change you. You must change the narrative
I don’t believe that all of these problems are happening to us. I believe they’re happening for us. Lonnie Holley is this wonderful artist who uses discarded material to create artwork. He says we shouldn’t think of it as trash and garbage. Rather, it’s something to work with … something to make something new out of. It’s this idea of narrative change. I like to think of it as “aesthetic force” because you can change people’s minds and opinions through this work.
And isn’t that a glorious thing? The possibility to shift and to pivot and to participate and to move … which becomes ignited when times get hard.
You look at the civil rights movement. All these horrible things were happening, and it just propelled them forward. It made them want to move. Same thing with this racial…
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