Are You Ok?: Building Community in Challenging Times
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Shawn Buttner: [00:00:00] Hey, how are you doing? at the time I'm recording this episode of the podcast, this is the day after the election in the U. S. and I just wanted to check in on y'all because it's a lot, it's heavy, I think. This election was going to be close, and it was going to be half of the nation was going to be upset, the other half was going to feel relief or elation, and that's pretty heady.
And I just wanted to check in, how are you feeling? BecauseI know Here on the Meaningful Revolution podcast, we are here to help creators accentuate their voices and do the meaningful work. And this is a call to do the meaningful work. I think no matter [00:01:00] how you feel, that's a message we can all get behind.
I don't. I don't make political statements on this show often, and I'm afraid of, for the future of our nation, of the people that have been villainized during the campaign of Donald Trump, and I honest to God hope that it's just talk, and things will simmer down, and the nation will unite and we'll go forward together.
And my experience after 2016 showed that is not the case. And so there's a lot of anxiousness. And what do you do when you're anxious? What do you do when you maybe feel angry about this? What do you do when you feel lost And. I think, again, you have to find those meaningful [00:02:00] things in your life.
I think you have to reach out to the people in your community. And again, these are apolitical things, reach out to the people you care about, the people in your community, and just let them know that you care about them, I think that's a universal truth that we can live by and help us move forward.
I think finding the things. that bring you joy day to day. Children, it could be the art you get to make, it could be the people you get to serve, or the value you get to add to other people's lives. Universally true.and choose to not lose hope.as intense as it might, you might be feeling right now, as I'm feeling right now, personally.
It's only going to be worse if you give up. It's only going to be worse if you don't continue [00:03:00] to strive to leave an impact with what you're doing in your day to day, or doing, working on the meaningful things that are important to you, to your family, to your community. And it's only going to get worse In preventing a counterpoint,we need more people stepping up.
I feel in sharing what they're seeing as someone that grew up in a mostly stable political time before some unstable times, probably 9 11 being the biggest thing in my life that kind of felt like the world shifted.I think our generation's often been apathetic or not willing to speak out, and I think right now we need bravery to be able to speak more than ever.
And to speak things that people are going to get upset about. [00:04:00] Or to speak things that are true, number one. but maybe not popular. And so the sense of being, I don't want to use the word resistance, but if we are to live into a meaningful revolution, we can strive and thrive through whatever is coming.
And I do firmly believe that. And I want to say that if you are, if you were on team Trump, awesome. congratulations. I hope you get what you need out of the changes that are coming. I can say that sincerely.and I could say that with a lot of trepidation, a lot of worry, a lot of concern, a lot of.
Disagreement where I think things are going to go, right? But that's part of being a democracy, right? [00:05:00] And it'd be hypocritical, especially with how 2020 went to not accept that this is where we're at,
because this is where we're at, you know? So what I'm planning on doing is focusing on the podcast, focusing on helping creators create their meaningful revolution, encouraging you to double down. And if you're feeling those strong emotions to create something, do that podcast on music or knitting that you've always wanted to do.
Write that book, start a YouTube channel where you're hanging out and opening, toys with your kids. there's so many different things that we can choose in this moment to be positive, to bring joy into our immediate circle and hopefully carry that through. if you're not happy with how things turned out, [00:06:00] my challenge to you is what are you going to do about it today?
What can we do to make sure? In two years, in four years, in six years, and in eight years, we have a different outcome. We have a different vision that's clearly communicated for the future that people buy into. And it's not just highlighting how upset we are with this coming administration. So again, you can probably guess how I lean politically and I'm okay with that now.
I used to try to hide it but not today. and in expressing that and in sharing that and in trying to find the hope for the future.I hope that's contagious. I hope, you can also find that. And if you do, please share it with us. I'd love to, to hear that. And, Like I said, this isn't going to be a lot of political stuff going forward.
I'm going to deep dive into creating the [00:07:00] best podcast and content for you, for creators, for staying positive in a probably very treacherous time coming, right? And I hope I'm wrong. I hope that my fears are unfounded and don't really Manifest. And if they do, I'll be here working, right? I'll be here living with my family.
I'll be here connecting with friends. I'll be here holding space for you. If you're feeling uncertain or if you're feeling great about it, awesome. Let's continue to improve. I know no matter what candidate would have won, In 2024, nothing was going to be perfect policy wise or decision wise or whatnot.
And that's part of living in the U. S. That's part [00:08:00] of being a citizen and being a good citizen is always striving for the best outcomes no matter what. And not hating on people while you're doing it. So, um, I love y'all. I hope you feel that. I hope that you're able to connect with somebody today. No matter who it is, check in on them.
I think, leaning into community today is really important. I think
Yeah. You're not doing this alone. You're not feeling your feelings alone. And there's work to do,personally, and,figuring out how we change things for the future for the better, And so that's my truth today, guys. And I figure I'd just do a quick, [00:09:00] this is how I'm feeling.
Hopefully it was inspiring to you. Let me know in the comments on YouTube or shoot me an email.yeah, or fill out the feedback thing. It'll be all right. It'll be all right. It's not going to be great, but it could be all right. Big hugs to y'all and we'll see you next time on The Meaningful Revolution.
