8 Things Everyone Should Feel Happy About

The pandemic was bad enough, and, just as we’re coming out of it, Russia decides it wants to start what could become another world war. Nothing seems to work like it did pre-pandemic, yet everything seems to cost more.

If that weren’t enough, Starbucks is regularly out of the vanilla syrup I like because of something called supply chain disruption. Is there any reason to be happy?

Fortunately, yes. It may be hard to detect because of all the major bummer, but some very good stuff is happening that serves as important reminders that things aren’t as bad as they seem. We appear to be re-examining our priorities and, in the process, overhauling much of everyday life in an attempt to seek out the positive wherever we can find it.

Here in no particular order, are eight things everyone should feel happy about.

Relationships: The Kindness Movement

Emotions or feelings such as kindness, empathy, and compassion appear to be rising in value, a function perhaps of concern for others during the pandemic. Even before COVID-19, however, kindness began to emerge as a highly desirable trait for someone to possess and display. “Be Kind” t-shirts became fashionable, and “kindness campaigns” were launched at many schools. Needless to say, this is a very good thing, as it reflects that we are all connected and part of the global community.

Business: Corporate Social Responsibility

A half-century after superstar economist Milton Friedman published his famous essay The Social Responsibility of Business Is to Increase Its Profits, the idea that corporate “greed is good” has thankfully been deemed as obsolete as a Ford Pinto.

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is among the most popular pursuits in business today, a positive step towards achieving a more equitable society. Call it what you will—conscious capitalism, elevated economics, woke capitalism, sustainability, or greening—CSR is a sign that corporations can be good citizens.

Investing: Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG)

As a kind of cousin to CSR, ESG offers investors the opportunity to put their money in companies that focus not just on financial performance. Such investors choose ethical, transparent companies in their business operations and engage in no activities that negatively affect people or the environment. In short, ESG offers investors the opportunity to not just make more money but make the world a better place.

Community: Social Activism

The biggest social problem in America has always been racial inequity, and the Black Lives Matter movement has done much for the country to confront institutional racism and promote change. Likewise, the MeToo movement has raised our awareness of gender inequities, and age-friendly initiatives are making many communities better places to live for everyone. We live in a golden age of social activism that rivals the counterculture, increasing our chances to live up to our noble democratic ideals grounded in equality.

Environment: Eco-consciousness

Alongside the wave of social activism has been a surge in environmental activism, i.e., a deep commitment to protect and preserve the planet and its inhabitants. Much in part to global warming, there is a greater consciousness that the world may be in peril and that it is our responsibility to do whatever we can to save it. This, too, has helped generate a sense of global connectedness.

Careers: Public Service

The pandemic, along with younger generations’ high degree of altruism, has fueled a significant shift in career planning. Public service—serving the people of a particular community somehow—is an increasingly popular career path for millennials and Gen Z, helping to usher in a welcome revival of civic life. Helping people, it turns out, is more rewarding than maximizing one’s income.

Health: 360-Degree Wellness

Rather suddenly, it seems, wellness is everywhere. I don’t remember ever seeing more interest in and care taken in the kind of foods we eat, the clothes we wear, and the places we live. Again the pandemic was a contributing factor, reminding us of the preciousness of our health and life itself.

Environment Essential Reads

Can We Stop Sabotaging Our Climate? Yes, With These Mindsets

How Nature Makes Us Human

Money: Wealth Transfer

It took quite a while for baby boomers to start giving a good chunk of their money away, but what is said to be the largest wealth transfer in history has reportedly begun. What kind of money are we talking about? Experts in such things say $30 trillion is beginning to be passed on to younger generations and to philanthropies, something that bodes well for the future.

Bonus thing everyone (except perhaps Bostonians) should feel happy about: the New York Yankees are, for the moment at least, above .500.