12 Oct 2026
CHAPTER 76 - SHOWING UP WHEN THE WORLD FEESL LIKE IT'S FALLING APART
CONTENT NOTE:
This episode discusses war and the humanitarian crisis in Palestine, immigration enforcement and ICE, violence, racism, anti-LGBTQIA+ rhetoric and policies, economic hardship, and the fear and grief that can come with watching people’s safety, rights, and humanity be threatened.
Where the fuck do we even start? There is so much happening in the world right now that sometimes caring about it feels like trying to hold water in your hands. Genocide. Violence. Immigration enforcement. Rising costs. Attacks on LGBTQIA+ people. Violence against women. Racism. People fighting for the basic right to exist safely and freely while the rest of us watch more suffering arrive through the tiny rectangles in our hands.
And somehow, after taking all of that in, we’re supposed to answer emails, make dinner, laugh in the group chat, go to work, love our people, and continue being ordinary humans.
So what do we do with all of it?
In this episode of The Art of Showing Up, Jes isn’t offering a pep talk. This is an honest conversation about how we remain awake to suffering without allowing it to consume us—and how we stay human in a world that sometimes gives us every reason to become numb. We’re talking about fear that isn’t irrational. Anger that deserves somewhere to go. The impossible math of caring about everyone. The guilt that can creep in when we experience joy while other people are suffering. The limits of what one person can carry. And the places where our hands can still reach.
Because caring deeply doesn’t require destroying yourself. Joy isn’t evidence that you’ve stopped paying attention. Rest isn’t indifference. And you don’t have to be powerful everywhere to be meaningful somewhere. Maybe showing up when the world feels like it’s falling apart isn’t about convincing ourselves everything is okay. Maybe it’s about refusing to let everything that’s broken convince us that nothing is worth tending.
IN THIS EPISODE:
When fear is a reasonable response to what’s happening around us
The emotional weight of having the world’s suffering constantly within reach
Making room for anger without allowing cruelty to remake us
Why despair isn’t proof that you care
Experiencing joy without treating it like betrayal
Finding your own radius of reach
Caring about things you cannot personally fix
Accountability without dehumanization
Knowing what is—and isn’t—yours to carry
Staying human anyway
LISTENER REFLECTION:
What is mine to carry?
What matters deeply to you?
Where can your hands actually reach?
And what have you stopped allowing yourself to experience because somewhere else in the world, somebody is hurting?
You don’t have to stop caring about the world to live inside your own life. Your humanity has to count, too. There are no graphic descriptions, but please take care of yourself however you need to while listening. You don’t have to consume something painful to prove that you care.
CONNECT + SUPPORT:
If this episode landed in a place where you felt moved, I hope it helps you breathe a little bit better. As always, follow, rate, and review the show -- be part of this wonderful little community's growth. And make sure to share this and any other episode with those you love and care about and on social media.
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Take care of yourselves.
Take care of each other.
And as always…keep showing up.
