Hopescrolling Over Doomscrolling

I've been pretty agitated about my social media algorithms lately. Particularly my Facebook account, which has been my preferred go-to social media platform. My FB thread seems to have every third post some advertisement that I'm completely not interested in. It seems like serious changes have happened, and my unscientific survey of my friends reveals they think the same. 

Add in the heaviness of the world these days, via politics, economics, nightly news, and medical updates from friends and family, social media isn't bringing me the same curated joy that it once was. My Facebook brain breaks have definitely become an exercise in doomscrolling these days. I'm not a fan--like  I said, the world is heavy enough. I don't need more doom and gloom.

It was in a recent doomscrolling moment that I ran across this post at 1 Million Women on Facebook. The caption really spoke to me. "Hopescroll." Yes! We need more hopescrolling. 

What I didn't realize is that hopescrolling, just like doomscrolling, is indeed a verb, at least in this smart phone, hand-help-computer era. Apparently it's been around for a couple of years. From UrbanDictionary.com, it is the distinct opposite of it's negative scrolling counterpart:

So where, oh where, can we find more of this? 

• Look up what you can find under the following hashtags: #Hopescrolling or #GoodNews

• This Healthline article has a few great ideas including how to best curate your social media feed with positive or inspirational accounts based on your interests, whether they are foodie-centric, carry travel vibes, or flower-filled gardens.

• Make more mindful choices--unsubscribing accounts that don't fill you up, set time limits, etc. 

• I have started a gratitude journal using the Orca Journaling app. Maybe that's where my #hopescrolling is best to start!

• Concepts like Nat Geo's 33 Changemakers and Jane Goodall Day also apply in the #hopescrolling department!

• Some Facebook pages that might serve as hopescrolling for you include:
• The Hope Scrolling private group
• The Nature Conservancy FB page
• Power of Positivity FB Page
• EarthDay.org's FB Page
• Any of the 10 listed in this Becoming Minimalist article: "10 Facebook Pages to Encourage Simplicity in Life"

We definitely need more messages of hope, good news, and inspiration in the world. Anyone have some great ideas, I'd love to hear them!

Images from https://www.facebook.com/20531316728/posts/10154009990506729/ and http://hopescrolling.urbanup.com/17895640

From Freedom to Future: Juneteenth, Father's Day, and the Obama Presidential Center

What do fathers, freedom, financial planners, and forward thinking spaces like Obama's Presidential Center have in common?

They all are tied to this weekend ahead, at least here in our house. Simultaneously, they all point to the same big question: What will we leave behind?

Here at home, my husband and I started the weekend with a Zoom call with our financial planner. This has become a relatively regular occurrence every month or two. Looking at longevity, legacy, and long-term care ultimately has us staring at that “someday” end date. 

We all have one, and no one gets out of this life without landing on one. Of course, we all hope it's later versus sooner. Add in the reality of parenting near-adult kids, and Father’s Day starts to feel a little different too. Aging, watching medical concerns trickle into our friend groups, and quietly wondering how on earth we got here so soon!

Then add in all the news of our first African American President, Barack Obama, unveiling his beautiful Presidential Center. More than a library, this community-centered campus includes outdoor green spaces for learning, playing, organizing, and creating together. It's a place to learn about civic engagement and democracy, serving as a place to honor the stories of those behind us as well as a springboard to build and imagine a future greater than the world in which we live. As I watched the speeches and unveiling, I felt the hope and optimism of building a collectively great place. That for me completely memorializes the power of our 250 years here in America.

It also highlights the vision and importance of Juneteenth, and feels powerful that the Center's opening was on June 18th. Juneteenth commemorates June 19, 1865 when the last group of enslaved Black people were finally told they were free in Galveston, Texas. This happened more than 2 years after Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation that put an end to slavery on January 1, 1963. Juneteenth became an official national holiday in 2021. It is seen as the "second Independence Day," celebrating freedom, equality, resilience, and social justice.

This weekend invites us to reflect on legacy in different ways. As we pay tribute to the history of Juneteenth, honor our dads and grandfathers here on Father’s Day, and celebrate the Obama Presidential Center and its focus to the future, we can feel the swirling power of "legacy." It feels living. It feels like a verb. It certainly feels like a hope for what's to come next.

We feel the stories of our own family histories as we celebrate our fathers, the stories of our country's history, and the stories we hope to build going forward. Much like the community gardens that are a part of the Obama Center, legacy is a place to go together. A place to grow together. It is through history and community that we do indeed grow. Perhaps that is the truest meaning of "legacy."

To all who celebrate:

• May Juneteenth be a day of remembrance, history, and renewed commitment to freedom; 
• May your Father’s Day be filled with gratitude, stories, and time together; 
• And may the Obama Presidential Center stand for a vision of hope, serving as an inspiring gathering place to many... keeping us learning, leading, and leaving a better world behind.

Images from https://www.businessbackpacker.com/how-to-build-your-personal-legacy-and-share-it-with-the-world/, https://www.instagram.com/p/DZvTQMpkxzj/, https://justicerevival.org/juneteenth-anti-racism-christian-prayer-reflections/, https://wesleychoice.org/12-interesting-facts-about-fathers-day/

Inspiring Heros: Nat Geo's 33 Changemakers

They had me at Harrison Ford. 

So I dug a little deeper and I was enraptured and captured by all 33 of National Geographic's "33 Changemakers" for 2026.

I love every way about how Nat Geo celebrates these environmental stewards, inspiring inovators, and bold thinkers. These people who have a commitment to the greater good of our planet and our people. They serve as leaders who model responsibility, perserverance and the power of activism and human impact. 

On National Geographic's Facebook Page, they shared some video shorts of each of these changemakers, speaking about what speaks to them. Here's the one that grabbed me and left me searching for more: 

To meet each and every one of this year's visionaries, go to their 33 Changemakers site and click to read about these remarkable people. (From there too, you can click a link to take a peek at the 2025 list as well.) From ocean advocates to climate technologists to explorers, defenders, pioneers, innovators, and more...who are from Hollywood indigenous tribes, and other global corners... these 33 leaders are passionate in their stewardship. Every one is worth clicking on to read their bios, then clicking in more to check out their deeper story.

For more video shorts and other videos about these innovators, go to Nat Geo's Channel and their 33 Changemakers links. 

Here is an overview of NatGeo's inaugural 33 Changemaker introduction last year.

Image from https://www.instagram.com/p/DV-_TYxlvvi/, Videos  from: https://youtu.be/79kLkjGR3JU?si=eZo4xs2mC10N7MmR (from the National Geographic 33 Changemakers of 2025) and https://www.facebook.com/share/r/1H5isyFN5R/

Are We Running Out of Clean Water?

The first line in this TED-ED video is: "From space, our planet appears to be more ocean than earth." 

We were reminded of this with some of the amazing pictures that came out from Artemis II's mission on April 1st to 11th, 2026.

Yet, water scarcity is real for many people globally. Accessibility of this water is our biggest issue, for where it is located versus where it is needed.

Watch TED-ED's "Are We Running Out of Clean Water" to learn more. Additionally, use the TED-ED's resources for both quizzing yourself and your students as well as their lesson prompts and plan.

Video from https://ed.ted.com/lessons/are-we-running-out-of-clean-water-balsher-singh-sidhu, image from https://www.facebook.com/nytimes/posts/nasa-shared-a-view-of-earth-on-friday-as-captured-by-reid-wiseman-the-artemis-ii/1337205921595201/