Copy, moon joy

I’ve been thinking about how to begin writing for this blog, and while some future posts will likely be more structured, educational content, I wanted to create something a little more reflective for the first post.

So many moments from the recent Artemis II mission have been sitting with me for weeks after their return, but the one that keeps coming back is: “copy, moon joy” from Mission Control Officer Jacki Mahaffey.

There’s a lot of bad shit going on across the world (understatement of the century here). For people who move through the world with empathy and awareness, it’s a lot. And still, moments of human connection and hope exist alongside that pain. Stories that remind us that curiosity, connection, and care still exist. Stories that give us a moment to feel that maybe it’s possible to hope, to care for others, to imagine something different, or that change, even within systems that disempower and harm us, can happen.

Copy, moon joy makes me think of the importance of finding the good stories, the ones that make the impossible start to feel possible. For folks being harmed by current political and social events, and folks trying to stay informed, the pain and exhaustion can feel overwhelming and disempowering. It’s easy for negativity bias to impact the brain’s thought processes (thoughts like: “It’s always going to be like this” or “Things will never change” or “No one care”). You can validate whatever emotions are coming up, but rather than just telling yourself the opposite (“It won’t be like this forever,” “Things will change,” or “Someone cares”), show your brain.
Look for stories that show you something else is possible

Some questions you can search that may help: What are global, national, and local activists and organizations doing? What have they been doing in the last year and over the past decades (there’s a whole global history of people advocating, caring, and sharing joy with others and that hasn’t stopped in the present day!)? What are your local mutual aid organizations doing? What’s going on at your local library? Is anyone in your local community doing something to show care and bring joy to others? Is there a way you want to show care or joy with others (or can you let yourself start imagining what it would be like)?

It doesn’t have to be on big scale. A person in my community collects discarded plant debris (flower petals, leaves, twigs) and creates small murals on local sidewalks. They only last a few hours before the wind or foot traffic carries them away, but it’s still a meaningful act that has created a ripple of joy and human connection to our community for years.

Even in the midst of hardship, there are stories that remind us something else is possible. Maybe part of the work is to keep looking for them.

Copy, moon joy