📓 Dear Friend, Hope This Finds You Well
Going deep into finding hope amongst chaos, the punk rock of optimism, and ways to resist without negating life!
Hey there, how’s it going?
Between people’s (rightfully) protesting about Elon and also for No Kings Day, the abrupt nuclear site bombings in Iran propelled us so far away from what we were focusing on in the start of June that the US has clearly and completely lost the plot. The girls were fighting just 25 days ago, yet it feels so much longer.
And because of this breakneck pace of persistent bad news, I was in desperate need of hope at the beginning of the month. I’ve written about hope before, but when things get tough, like when I’m having a “why do humans never learn” type existential crisis kind of tough, the thought of actively seeking hope is much more taxing than just giving in to the nihilism of it all.
But strange as this may sound — I pulled through and spent much of my June happy and hopeful. This might sound strange to someone who’s spent their entire 30s having Depression™ be their whole personality, but hear me out.
Act I: Finding Love in a Hopeless Place
Since January of this year, I’ve felt and have written much about burnout, the attention economy, and finding ways to build resilience. A significant throughline between these themes is how, as our work hours increased, we have increasingly shifted our solutioning to be online for the sake of speed and efficiency.
Because of this, the places where we once felt seen, heard, and acknowledged have also shifted from real-life interactions to online spaces, which are primarily controlled by a few corporations (namely those tied to, but not limited to, social media). These mega corps wield considerable financial and persuasive power to not only keep us in these spaces, but also design them in a way that keeps us outraged for the sake of engagement and monetization.
Hope is impossible in a toxic space where all we see and hear are outrage and disagreements, leaving us feeling trapped and more isolated than ever. One of the ways out is to actively make these online rooms smaller while we find and build community in offline places. Or as the kids would say, go touch grass.
- Beginners Cantonese Class: The biweekly class in our local library is going strong. In fact, I’m now a volunteer to help teach, and it’s been incredibly rewarding to share my passion for Cantonese with individuals who are eager to learn. The class is still growing, we’re at a point where we all know each other’s names, and people even brings snacks to share. I always leave class feeling fulfilled and content.
- Dark-Eyed Junco: Ian loves animals and plants, and in recent months, he’s introduced me to the adorableness of Dark-Eyed Juncos. It’s actually a pretty common bird by where we live — I’ve just never noticed them before. Whenever I go for a neighborhood walk now, it’s hard not to notice these pudgy lil’ birds or the chipper songs they sing. It’s easy to feel how interconnected we all are when we pay attention to the world around us.
- Zohranissance: Of course, there’s this blip of news that a newcomer candidate won the NYC mayoral primary against someone with connections to multiple alleged sexual assaults. (So weird that in 2025, this election result is considered surprising and not “well, duh!”) But this also reinvigorated my hope and conviction to always listen to young people. I’ve seen firsthand this “it’s the children who are wrong” mentality, and I refuse to partake in it.
“I will always, always, always believe that it was always worth trying. In fact, it’s so important that we don’t give up because people do not understand. Even if you don’t see a way, because ways emerge, moments emerge. I was not supposed to get elected to Congress by any stretch of the imagination. I was insane. I was a waitress.” – Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
More on Hope:
Act II. Rock the Hope
As much as I love listening to classical music (and I absolutely do) in the past few months, during my afternoon commute one day I was decidedly feeling, “No, this isn’t it” and switched to a Fiona Apple playlist instead. From there on, I’ve dipped into some Jeff Rosenstock and Green Day as well, and I’ve been really digging it. Specific albums and recommendations from friends aside, rock music has never been my preferred genre. That said, having listened to classical music had taught me that it’s okay to just “vibe out” sometimes, which I find applicable to rock music as well.
Speaking of, in listening to the song American Idiot, I was astounded by how relevant the lyrics are even 20+ years after its release. The media landscape may be different today, but the song’s mention of media causing hysteria and alienation still holds true, if not more so in terms of today’s social media world. The more things change, the more they stay the same.
In the context of the state of the world, can I also just say that being hopeful at times like this is the most irreverent, punk rock thing we can do today?
“Don't wanna be an American idiot
One nation controlled by the media
Information age of hysteria
It's calling out to idiot America
Welcome to a new kind of tension
All across the alienation
Where everything isn't meant to be okay”
—American Idiot, Green Day
Act III. Hope This Finds You Well
So by this point I hope (heh) you’re on board with this hope thing, on why it’s worth looking for it and where you may find it. But what’s next? Do I have to go protest every weekend or constantly shout on top of my social feeds? “I’m tired!” you say, and yeah man, I hear ya.
Well in this awesome video, vertical video sensation Hank Green suggests while we can expend all our energy to push against a wall in an attempt to topple it over, we can also spend no energy in search of a door. While all of us are distracted and triggered by daily inter/national headlines (which we can’t always take action on), we’re missing out on the smaller headlines and in areas where we can make a big difference. He also mentioned Wu-Wei (無為), a concept that’s been on my mind ever since I read How to Do Nothing by Jenny Odell. A core theme between Hank’s video, Jenny’s book, and Wu Wei is this concept of taking non-action, which is distinct from simply not taking any action.
Taking non-actions (or as Jenny Odell calls it, “Resist in place”) is not about giving up and opting out of life, but rather to consciously focus our time and energy in meaningful ways that also can’t be easily monetized by corporations. (This is also why teaching Cantonese, seeing friends, and even going for my weekly runs are important to me — they shift my focus away from doomscrolling and instead foster a sense of community around me.) In my journal, I recently wrote:
Resist in place is not doing nothing.
It takes active energy, intent, and will to be hopeful in a hopeless situation.
It takes brain cells to actively wonder for a better world in order to lay out plans to make it a reality.
It takes courage to live your truth when the world is so desperately tries to tell you what that truth is. (There are four lights!)
It takes bravery to not give in to the obvious anxiety and fear within you, instead to outwardly smile and actively love those most need it from you.
Where information is infinite and attention is sparse, it takes a toll for you pay no attention (and thus validation) to those who are desperately doing everything they can to get it from you.
It takes a lot to do nothing, and it takes everything to resist in place.
Epilogue
All in all, while I recognize today’s world is not okay, it doesn’t mean I shouldn’t also (try to) be hopeful. Hope doesn’t involve blindly sticking my head into the sand and convincing myself that everything is fine. I’m also not writing this to claim to have “figured it out” or to brand myself as an expert in optimism and hope. Life, and my outlook on it, are cyclical — the second I feel comfortable, the winds will likely change, and the hope I have in me will likely be no different than cotton candy for a raccoon. And so, this email serves as a reminder for both you and my future self alike.
Unironically and deeply, I hope this newsletter finds you well.
“Even now, as the world moves faster, and many forget the old ways, the moon still rises. The land still breathes. The strawberries still come when it is their time — reminding us that the teachings are never lost, only waiting for us to remember.”
Kanipawit Maskwa, Standing Bear Network
And here's the rest of it…
Thanks for reading this and being with me on this journey. Let me know what’s going on in your world and be sure to share something with me that’s been giving you life! You can also check out past issues of Dear Friend, on my website. Here’s the rest of it:
- What’s Worth Remembering in June 2025
- The photos I took this month
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Interesting enough to share but not enough to write about:
Love wins
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