A new kind of heroism is needed in facing the dire problems of the 21st century. The truth is we can’t confront any emergency, whether it’s personal, local, or global, by hoping and praying that the problem will go away or waiting for someone else to act. Trebbe Johnson suggests that we not deny our heartbreak—Rather we must give expression to our grief through tears, creative work, and sharing our lives and our stories with others. This is how we soften the grief and allow compassion and gratitude to infiltrate our being. By opening to the possibility of wonder from surprising sources, we recognize that, even in the bleakest of times, beauty is possible. She says, “I do think that somehow often in the times when we are most broken and vulnerable beauty comes through. Leonard Cohen says “there is a crack in everything, that’s how the light gets in.’” Although that beauty can’t permanently replace our losses, our sorrow, and the dire problems we’re facing, it can break through the walls of powerlessness and melt despair.
