Third Act ‘Hope & Joy’ Gatherings

Our last “H&J” gathering was on November 13th at 7 PM ET:
“Wisdom and Courage for a World Falling Apart”: A Conversation with Brian McLaren

Our next “H&J” gathering is on Dec 12th at 7 PM ET:
“A Pediatrician on the Frontlines of Climate Change”: A Conversation with Debra Hendrickson

An enduring commitment to activism isn’t easy. With so many gigantic challenges swirling around, the potential for grief and burnout is high. We’ve partnered with ThirdAct in creating an on-line gathering series designed to create space to think about all this. The idea is simple: bring in wise people from across many fields and see what they have learned about navigating these difficulties. The intent is to point at a wide array of perspectives and practices that might help us navigate the psychological ups and downs of the initiatives that ThirdAct is working on. 

The series is new this year and it’s been a hit. We’ve had guests with expertise in the neuroscience of meditation/contemplation, Doug Abrams (co-author of the ‘Book of Joy’ and the ‘Book of Hope’), lawyer Melissa Sims (leading major court cases against the fossil fuel companies), prolific and wise author/philosopher/teacher Brian McLaren, the filmmakers behind the wonderful “Reflections of Life” project, sociologist and writer Shaylyn Romney-Garrett (co-author of “The Upswing” – a powerful book about the history of the progressive movement in the US), and Irish writer/activist/storyteller Gareth Higgins.

You don’t need to be a Third Act volunteer to be welcome to join any of our events. We do ask that you respect the idea that these events are about finding hope and joy in a challenging world. And, that most of the attendees are active volunteers trying, as best they can, to address the goals and objectives of ThirdAct.org.

‘Ikigai’ is a Japanese concept that combines the terms ‘iki’ (‘alive’ or ‘life’) with and ‘gai’ (‘benefit’ or ‘worth’). Third Act volunteers have come together around the mission of Third Act, and what that work means to our communities and our kids – now and in the future. That sense of ikigai binds us together. It’s also the reason we’re refired, not retired.

As rational observers of the world who’ve been around the block a few times, we aren’t naïve about our work. Between reading the news and talking to the people around us, it’s not hard to find reasons to be less than optimistic. Yet, we share hope. If we didn’t, we wouldn’t be doing what we do.