The Joy of Disrupting Despair In Silly, Subversive Ways

A LOT is happening right now.

And, chances are, you are already inundated by news, Substacks, and memes about Greenland, Europe, and the coming (literal) storm in the U.S.

I am not here to address any of that.

My role? It’s to gently (but persistently!) remind you that you have the capacity to slow down, breathe, and choose how you want to respond.

It’s easy to sink into despair. That is a sane response to this insanity.

What disrupts despair is small actions.

Preferably hyper-local.

Something you can do TODAY.

Bonus points: something you can create and complete with another human.

Here’s the thing: your poor battered nervous system needs to be reminded of your agency.

Completion is calming, even if it’s just cleaning the kitchen.

The power of small actions is that they prove that we are not trapped.

That we remain capable of moving.

That we can respond to how we feel by choosing to connect and act.

And that we can free our shut-down imagination and our numbed-out sense of humor and let them go little WILD.

Photo: me wearing my all-time favorite t-shirt featuring a cover for Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451.

In my stealthy Disrupt2Uplift project, I get to help others disrupt despair through creative, courageous, and comically subversive actions that delight and inspire.

You can start right where you are.

Begin by brainstorming with just one other person.

Think gleeful and visible acts that make others gasp and giggle.

Yes, legal and safe. No property damage. Nothing permanent.

This isn’t about destruction.

It’s about filling you, your buddy, and those in your community who see your creative work with a sense of joyful solidarity.

There is a specific advantage to choosing silly: it can be remarkably disarming.

It re-humanizes people, if only for a moment. (Yes, even those with guns.)

We’ve all seen videos of that person in an inflatable frog costume in Portland, Oregon, and its glorious moves while the masked gun-toters stood around.

Maybe this frog got lucky, but something tells me there were some smirks behind those masks.

And I am no expert on this, but I am guessing it is a lot harder to shoot someone at point-blank range when you’re stifling a smile.

That’s the kind of ridiculousness that can keep us SAFE.

Two of my favorite stealthy pranksters/clients! 

This has to be home-grown.

I could share a list of actions, but that deprives you of the opportunity to create your own.

(Also: we are sworn to secrecy. It's just more fun that way.)

The bigger point is that you know your community.

You know what is important to them, and what is annoying to them. And you also know what is likely to make them laugh.

That knowledge is golden.

We are being overwhelmed intentionally. It’s all part of the playbook.

So, recognizing that, and choosing to connect, talk, move, laugh, and do something creative and hilarious is not just an act of resistance.

It is how we are going to get through this together.

Because laughter is healing. It forces us to exhale.

As you acknowledge all that we are losing, I invite you to remember this:

You can turn your despair about the world into creative energy and some good-hearted and healing mischief for the sake of the humans all around you.

This is how we fall in love with what is still possible.

PROMPT/PLAY:

Who is your favorite partner in mischief-making?

What is stopping you from reaching out to them TODAY to start stirring things up?

Thank you for reading, for sharing your time with me, and for being open to doing something TODAY to reconnect with your capacity—for wonder, creativity, connection, and joy.