So many people I know are deeply traumatised by the increasing darkness in the world – Gaza, Ukraine, the outrageous antics of Trump and his handpicked MAGA extremists, and now a war between Israel and Iran, not to mention the heartbreaking climate crisis.
Every time we see the news there are more reasons to be shocked and saddened.
What’s happening seems impossible to believe.
Many are having difficulty just managing tight budgets, coping with ailments or finding a place to live. They don’t need these horrors added to the mix.
People with partners can comfort each other, but many single people are having to deal with these hard times on their own.
Some take solace in nature, going for long walks on the beach, gazing to the horizon looking for humpback whales on their annual migration north, enjoying the sunrise and the full moon.
Farmers’ markets are great places to meet and talk with friends and strangers and exchange sympathetic smiles. They provide a comforting sense of community, as well as an opportunity to buy fresh locally-grown produce.
We were shopping in Santos, Mullumbimby on their Tuesday 20 per cent discount day last week – it was remarkable how many people were smiling at each other. It felt more like a party than a shopping expedition.
Those smiles are infectious, not only that, but they also have a physical effect on us.
Scientific studies have shown smiling can lift your mood, lower stress and even boost the immune system, releasing serotonin, dopamine and endorphins. It’s now been discovered that just seeing people smile at each other can lift the mood of others.
Many years ago, I used to read Reader’s Digest, and my favourite column was Laughter is the Best Medicine. It seems it was true all along.
Smiling at each other is a kind thing to do and helps elevate our moods, if only temporarily.
As lovely as it is though, it doesn’t help pay the bills. Judging by the empty shops and quietening down of business, it’s apparent our local economy is suffering, and economic times are getting harder.
Several businesspeople I have talked to report lower earnings and higher prices.
One sole trader said she was 30 per cent down on last year, and has reduced her own salary and is learning to cut her coat according to her cloth, as the old saying goes. She’s buying more secondhand clothes and other items and eating out less.
What austerity looks like
I’ve lived long enough to see what severe food rationing and austerity look like.
I can report it’s survivable, but it does need dexterity and imagination. For example, how to still prepare delicious meals with less expensive ingredients and avoiding waste.
My family in England had two allotments when I was a boy after the war, small plots of land to grow peas and beans and other vegetables. Despite the deprivation we survived well.
There was little waste then. Socks, clothes and shoes were carefully darned and repaired. There was no plastic waste, because there was no plastic. Even old newspapers were sold for recycling. Just about everything had a value.
Maybe in our Shire Council could bring together a group of landholders and arrange for residents to rent allotments on land currently used for grazing cattle?
The financial return from grazing cattle is very low compared to what could be achieved with intensive horticulture. While we are at it, grazing land could be converted to high value native food cropping such as Mullum plums, delicious finger limes and other species.
Landholders could receive a better income by sharing their land, which helps as the global climate crisis hits supply chains and pushes up prices.
We are a vibrant, loving community, and have worked together well in previous crises with strangers coming to the aid of each other spontaneously.
With trauma from the horrors overseas, plus the cost-of-living and housing crisis, many need even more love and understanding.
During the 2022 floods, strangers knocked on doors asking if any help was needed.
Maybe we need to do some more doorknocking to see if people need comforting.
Our world is changing.
The old system of wasteful mass consumption is giving way gradually to more careful management of resources, reuse and sharing, making things last longer, and repairing rather than throwing away.
It’s what our suffering Earth needs as well. For too long we have plundered her resources unthinkingly, oblivious to the effects on the environment and other species with which we share this Earth.
If we unite as a community, working for the common good, regardless of different views we have on controversial subjects, ensuring those in need, whether emotionally or in a practical sense, are cared for, we will all be better off.
♦ Richard Jones is a former NSW MLC and is now a ceramist.
For four decades The Echo has printed the stories some people loved, some people hated, and some pretended not to read. If you want us to keep telling the truth, the real truth, not the sugar-coated version. We’ll need your support to keep the presses rolling. 
