Parenting While We Feel Hopeless About the World

Sometimes, being a human in this world, amidst all the violence and ignorance and pain, is so deeply disheartening it hurts. In the moments when I’m really in touch with the suffering that exists throughout the world, with the f*cked up politics, humans’ inability to access compassion for one another or change the way we treat our planet, I feel bogged down by hopelessness and worries— and parenting in that state feels nearly impossible.
 
In Operating Instructions: A Journal of My Son’s First Year, Anne Lamott says— “How on earth can I bring a child into the world, knowing that such sorrow lies ahead, that it is such a large part of what it means to be human?
I'm not sure. That's my answer: I'm not sure.”
 
It’s OK to feel conflicted about bringing a child into this messed up world. It’s OK to doubt yourself, and to feel unsure at any point of this process. Choosing to become a parent is one of the most brazen acts of hope.
 
For me, raising my kids and being a parent gives me so much access to love and connection— and I feel in my bones that if humans have any hope at creating a just and healthy future, it will be these feelings that guide us there.
 
So if you’re in the process of dreaming up your future queer and/or solo parent family, or living the day to day of parenting while feeling weighted by the world’s suffering, you are in good company. You aren’t alone in the fears and the overwhelm.
 
We are with you. And I do believe that the honor of creating and raising future generations is an essential part of humanity’s collective healing.
 
Sending love, soothing, and solidarity—

Marea