Practicing Active Hope in an Overwhelming World

If you have been feeling overwhelmed by the state of the world lately, you are not alone.

Many of my clients share a similar feeling: a steady sense of emotional exhaustion brought on by the daily flood of troubling news. Wars, hunger, injustice, racism, environmental disasters, rampant consumerism, financial inequities, and the accelerating impacts of climate change seem to dominate the headlines. The list feels endless.

Like many people, I continue to search for ways to make sense of this chaos—and to find some light within the darkness.

Recently, my meditation instructor encouraged me to read Active Hope: How to Face the Mess We’re in Without Going Crazy by Joanna Macy and Chris Johnstone. Although the book was first published in 2012, its message feels even more relevant today.

Macy, who passed away in 2025 at the age of 96, was a Buddhist scholar and lifelong advocate for peace, justice, environmental protection, and anti-nuclear activism. Johnstone, a former physician, has spent more than three decades teaching resilience and wellbeing.

Their central idea is simple but powerful: hope is not something we passively have — it is something we actively practice.

What Is Active Hope?

According to Macy and Johnstone, Active Hope does not require optimism. In fact, it can be practiced even when we feel discouraged or uncertain about the future.

Rather than waiting for hope to appear, we begin with intention and let that intention guide our actions.

They outline three basic steps:

1. Take a clear view of reality.

2. Identify what we hope for—the direction we would like the world to move in and the values we want to see expressed.

3. Take steps that move ourselves and our communities in that direction.

Hope, in this sense, becomes something we do.

The Three Stories Shaping Our World

Macy and Johnstone describe three “stories” that influence how people understand the world today.

1. Business as Usual

In this story, personal success and getting ahead dominate the narrative. Global problems are seen as distant or irrelevant to our daily lives. Advertising, social media, and global marketing reinforce the idea that more consumption equals a better life.

2. The Great Unravelling

The second story recognizes the consequences of this mindset. It highlights five major global crises:

• Economic instability

• Resource depletion

• Climate change

• Social division and conflict

• Mass extinction of species

3. The Great Turning

The third story offers a different possibility. The Great Turning represents the growing number of individuals and communities working to protect life on Earth. It requires vision, courage, and solidarity.

It also asks us to rethink how we see ourselves—not just as citizens of one nation, but as members of a shared planetary community.

Many Indigenous traditions have long taught this understanding: we are not separate from the Earth—we are part of it.

The Vietnamese Zen master Thích Nhất Hạnh once offered this response when asked what we must do to save the world:

“What we most need to do is hear within us the sounds of the Earth crying.”

A Lesson from Nature: Cooperation

Recently I came across the scientific concept of Endosymbiotic theory, which suggests that key steps in evolution occurred not only through competition—often described as “survival of the fittest”—but through cooperation between organisms.

In some cases, separate organisms joined together to form entirely new life forms.

This idea reminds us that collaboration and interconnectedness have always been powerful forces in the evolution of life. Perhaps meaningful change in our world will emerge in much the same way—through cooperation and shared purpose.

Practicing Active Hope

Macy and Johnstone offer a practical exercise to cultivate Active Hope.

Step 1: Imagine the world 30 years from now.Make a list of what you would like to see: clean air, renewable energy, peaceful conflict resolution, simpler lifestyles, and widespread ecological awareness.

Step 2: Identify the steps needed to reach that vision.This might include fewer cars and trucks, greater investment in renewable energy, better public transportation, and stronger environmental protections.

Step 3: Identify specific actions that could move us in that direction.For example, safer cycling infrastructure, affordable public transit, incentives for car-pooling, or policies that reduce pollution.

Individually these actions may seem small—but collectively they can create real change.

A Question for All of Us

I highly recommend Active Hope for anyone feeling discouraged by the current state of the world. The book offers not only insight but also a practical framework for turning concern into meaningful action.

So the question becomes:

What can each of us do today to cultivate Active Hope?

I’ll close with this beautiful vow written by Joanna Macy:

I vow to myself and to each of you:

To commit myself daily to the healing of our world and the welfare of all beings.

To live on Earth more lightly and less violently in the food, products, and energy I consume.

To draw strength and guidance from the living Earth, the ancestors, future generations, and my brothers and sisters of all species.

To support others in our work for the world and to ask for help when I need it.

To pursue a daily practice that clarifies my mind, strengthens my heart, and supports me in living these intentions.