In the dark hours of the early morning the post I had been working on got put off. World events and war were on my mind. I wondered whether or not it seemed appropriate to ask people to support a venture that is, for me, high on Maslow’s Hierarchy* while some people in Ukraine are finding themselves quickly at the base, and some are even losing their lives.

My doubts subsided quickly, but not lightly. It is so hard to know what to say or do. I’ve deleted 95% of the most recent version of this post. We must do everything we can to prevent war, and all of the other real and important existential threats we are bombarded with daily, each one truly worth full attention. Not to make light of any particular struggle, they are all literal or metaphoric wars. The world is at a turning point, probably the most important one of my lifetime.

Getting through this time well means approaching age old problems and new ones with unity in ways no one ever has before, and we’re going to have to rise above in countless ways. My first instinct when I thought of giving up the project was the overwhelm in knowing that there are so many urgent things bigger and more important than my project. That led to my second instinct, that people need distractions and stress relief now at least as much as ever, and there is quiet strength in the process of going on.

I listen to the news about this war and hear things I’ve never heard before. Things that make me optimistic that we will rise as a world and take things to the next level, and then I hear just as many that don’t.

I may not know the right things to think, do or say, but giving up (on any worthy thing you are trying to accomplish) is the only unthinkable choice.

Pursuing this project has made a huge difference to me, my health and my mental health through the pandemic. I want to pursue it long enough for other people to know about it and maybe get some benefit, inspiration, entertainment, enjoyment or stress relief from it.