Category: Your future

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Celebrate this Sunday the monumental Loving Day

On 12 June every year, people celebrate Loving Day in the USA. It marks the outcome of the 1967 landmark case “Loving versus Virginia“. With it, laws against interracial marriage and relations were ruled unconstitutional across all of the USA.

Mildred and Richard Loving in 1967; source: Wikipedia

What an achievement!

Pat yourselves on the back and celebrate the achievement. Now get up again and keep the ruling alive. Yes, you heard me correctly. The ruling is in danger of being overturned. Similar to the Roe v. Wade debate, this ruling is in danger of being repealed. It may be a little further into the future, however, once women’s rights are taken way, black and brown people will be next, before other minorities will be oppressed.

The first signs of coming oppression are already with us. Gerrymandering and voter suppression are reality for many and so is police violence. Both disadvantage people of color. Changing the Loving v. Virginia ruling will take away your right to choose the person who you want to spend the rest of your life with. Further, it appears to me to be the first step towards legalizing segregation. Who knows were it will end. I don’t even want to speculate.

The Loving v. Virginia ruling is already being discussed at higher levels and GOP politicians seem to think that individual states should make the decisions themselves. Just like they did with Roe v. Wade which is in the process of being overturned. You can watch the tragedy unfold right in front of your eyes… if you dare to keep them open.

If you live outside of the USA, you would be forgiven to think that this has no impact on your life. Think again. Looking back over history, the rise of fascism in one country often encouraged similar trends in other countries. I’m thinking of the outcome of the recent elections in Hungary followed by increased emergency powers for Viktor Orban for example or the last Brazilian presidential elections in 2018.

So, what can we do to keep our freedom?

It is the same routine as always: register to vote, then go and vote the GOP out of office.

You should also phone your representative and tell them to keep the law, so that they understand how important it is.

Alternatively, you can move to a more liberal country if this option is open to you.

It is up to you how you want to move forward: keep your freedoms and vote for them – OR – loose them.

Choose wisely!

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Get out! Your life may depend on it…

I grew up in a place with few good job opportunities and if you were a woman, there were practically none. I used to joke that the only options for a woman are to either become a dependent of some husband or other for all of eternity or to become a nun or to leave. So I left.

As it turns out, all of my friends I met along the way were in similar situations. For one reason or another, they had to leave. The reasons sound all too familiar: lack of opportunity, poverty, sexism, racism or any other garden variety persecution.

Sidenote: Did you know that passports as we know them have only been in existence for a little over 100 years?

Photo by Nataliya Vaitkevich from Pexels

Watching the news and looking around me, I feel that many places fall back into a hole that resembles the places where my friends have come from: war in Ukraine; misogyny, racism and a broken democracy in the United States of America; over 70% inflation in Argentina; genocide in China; oppression in Russia… the list goes on. People are in danger.

If I lived in any of these countries, I’d be on my way out – and I understand that this is a big task. Some countries don’t allow their citizens to leave. You read correctly: you are locked up inside your own country. The country simply does not give you an “exit visa” and you can’t leave. After all, you “belong” to the country just like a slave belongs to the slave owner. Other people are already fleeing a war zone as refugees, in which case I’d suggest you keep going and I wish you all the best.

For all others who live in a country headed towards dictatorship, I recommend you work towards a way out. Even small actions matter to ensure you have a chance to live a long, happy and fulfilling life.

So let’s look at what’s needed.

For starters, if you are young enough then you may get visas based on age. There are plenty of countries who are willing to let you in – at least temporarily – if you are young and can contribute to their society. Check visa options for your favorite destinations and see what they can offer and apply. If you don’t apply, it will never happen. What do you have to lose? Or better: What do you have to gain?

Next, I’d always suggest getting educated to a level where it is easier to move to another country. Many visa processes look at how you would fit into their system. One factor which will give you “brownie points” to entry is education. The thinking is that higher education equates to more contribution to GDP. Again, check visa options for places you’d like to live in. You may even find that you are eligible for a student visa. Give it a go and see what happens.

Keep in mind that education is not limited to ivy league establishments. It can cover everything including apprenticeships, online learning and even experiences you gain when volunteering. Every action you take to learn more will help you in the long run.

Of course, if you already have a job, especially in international organizations, you could work towards being moved to another country. I’ve worked with expats and most were grateful for the opportunities.

Sometimes you don’t even need to change countries. Sometimes it’s enough to move to another region or state. For example in the USA or Switzerland, each region / state can have (some) different rules. Could that work for you?

I hope you can see the thinking of countries: if they can get something out of you and if you make it easy for them to see that, then they are more likely to let you in. So, please, make it easy for them to see you as a benefit to their country.

Alternatively, Forbes suggests that you can buy citizenship in a country and live there. If you are lucky enough to have the funds, good on you. If not, then Forbes also has an article on an Italian village paying you to move there. Over the last few years, some countries, such as Italy, have come up with ideas to attract people so that their rural communities can survive. Look around online and find your perfect location in the sun.

Whatever may happen, if the rules in your place don’t suit you, then please do whatever it takes to stay safe. I’m thinking abortion, women’s and LGBTQ+ healthcare in the USA in particular. Please, think of your (existing or potential) children and also of yourself first and foremost! Think critically about where you want to live.

Go for it and get out!

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End of Q1: looking back and planning forward

Yes, the first quarter of the year is drawing to a close. Thinking back, I had a lot of ideas of what I would accomplish and close out in the first three months of the year. One top priority was to get on top of my yearly taxes. I’m pleased to say that this one priority was completed as planned.

2022 March – Q1 ends today

Yes, I will be celebrating with a nice meal this weekend. After all, celebrating small success keeps motivation up and trains the mind to pursue bigger and better goals all the while keeping me on track. I know I’ll stay on track since I don’t want to miss out on my treat.

Now, there is off course a flip side to this beautiful coin. I set out to learn a lot more about how to improve this blog. Did I achieve everything? Unfortunately, no, I did not finish my WordPress learning journey. I am the first to admit that I have an unhealthy relationship with news and I binge read – especially if it impacts the lives of millions of people negatively like the war in Ukraine. I did spend way too much time finding out what the latest is instead of focusing on my learning goals.

I did start however and I have a plan which I started working through and that is always a good place to be. “Well begun is half done!” is an old saying attributed to Aristotle and which I agree with wholeheartedly. Knowing what will need to be done prior to starting is valuable information and allows for unforeseen circumstances and disruptions without derailing the overall plan.

Also, it is said that people overestimate what they can do in one year but underestimate what they can achieve in 5 to 10 years. In addition, I did start to be more physically active which is already showing positive results. I feel more energetic, seem to need less sleep and feel better, more balanced than before.

In summary, I have not achieved everything I have set out to do. Having said that, I have finished all the important items, am well on my way to finishing my learning goals and have taken on an additional task. Not bad, I say.

What will Q2 hold?

For me, I will focus on finishing on my Q1 item. Science has shown that stress arises more from open item than too much to do. So, let’s start with finishing. Once I have cleared the old tasks, I’ll set myself new goals.

How about you? What are you proud of when you look back over the last 3 months? I am sure there is at least one thing you can think off.

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Stop doom scrolling and take action for a better future

Since Thursday, 24 February 2022, I’ve been doom scrolling nearly every day. Yes, I am one of those people who wake up and before doing anything else, I check if president Zelenskyy is still alive and what the latest atrocities in Ukraine are. I do the same before going to bed and have lost countless hours of sleep that way.

What should I have done instead?

I could have signed up as a virtual volunteer in aid of Ukraine, I could have done volunteering in my local area, I could have tidied my flat. As Beverley Knight sang “Shoulda Woulda Coulda means I’m out of time”. I can’t change the past and rather than continuing with doom scrolling or hoping I had done differently, I better set my eyes on more productive behaviours in the future.

The first change I’ll make is to use a different alarm clock. Yes, I will banish my mobile phone which used to be my alarm clock and go back to using an old fashioned one. That alone should give me back half hour every day in the morning.

Further, I’ll limit my news reading to 10 minutes each right after breakfast, lunch and stopping work for the day. This should keep me up to date without taking up too much of my time.

With this new found time, I’ll focus back on my goals of learning new skills as I described earlier this year. I will also continue to support Ukraine, democracy and liberal values as much as I can through actions. I hope you do too.

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I believe that small actions matter

I believe that small actions matter. All our actions, no matter how small or large have an impact on our environment, on people around us and on our own life. For example a kind word may make your colleague feel better; being a role model to a child waiting to cross the road may save its life one day.

At a larger scale, all our individual actions combine to impact a city, a country or the whole world as we see by news items around the world, examples being the unauthorised Catalan independence vote, Brexit or the financial crisis of 2008.

The root of these situations and problems is not a lack of education or a fault with the system. In my opinion, the problem is the fact that people are not aware of the full range of options and the respective consequences of their actions.

Over the next year, I will think out loud about my thoughts and ideas on the topic and why it is important to me. I’d like to hear your ideas and feedback as well to ensure an unbiased view of the world.

Therefore, I encourage you to think about your actions and whether they are result of a conscious decisions to improve your life in the long run. Or were they merely result of habit or outside influences?

More importantly, I invite you to take positive action and do the right thing every time you have the opportunity to do so.