Riding the wave of current trends

When we look back through history or even our lived memories there are themes permeating these periods of time.

Each phase features its own new technologies, geopolitical unrests, cultural trends, economic worries or underlying themes. But some of them rise to the surface and seem to consume the collective consciousness.

These societal obsessions manifest differently by location, community and time but their broader sweeps weave through each chapter of the past and present.

Take the Cold War. There was fear of communism, tension between East and West and existential nuclear crisis.

More recently, consider the impacts of COVID-19, Brexit, 9/11 and other monolithic concepts that occupied our minds.

Today defining themes include climate change, artificial intelligence (AI) and the cost-of-living crisis – to mention but a few.

When we think about these huge themes we can sometimes feel very small and powerless.

One antidote to this feeling is taking action within the realms of our control. For example we can recycle, volunteer, donate or take part in grassroots collective action.

But if we allow ourselves to be wholly consumed by these current trends it is easy to feel lost, frustrated or burdened by them.

At the risk of sounding a little zen or like an excerpt from a Headspace meditation, there truly is value in awareness with the capacity to let these thoughts go.

Be aware of these societal obsessions but hold them loosely in mind or they will exert power over you.

If you are passionate about a certain topic like climate change or doing what you can to alleviate the cost of living crisis in your community by all means have at it.

But when we try to wrestle with the societal currents flowing past us, we fight a losing battle if we dive in too deeply.

Ride the waves of current trends, don't drown in them.

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