Looking into 2025, you may be like me and wondering how you can be more helpful, make a difference or even counter the “othering” that is happening in our country. Let me help get your mind thinking about how that might look for you.
Othering is a way of negating another person’s individual humanity and, consequently, those that are have been othered are seen as less worthy of dignity and respect.
When my husband, Gary, and I first met one of our initial dates was a hike to Lake Serene below Stevens Pass. And one of the ways I knew he was a keeper was that fact we both had a calling to picking up trash we found along the way. I got my calling to leave things better than I found them from my hiker mom.
If you have been following me long enough, you may have seen me post about Leave No Trace and how Gary and I have found ways to make the most of our time outdoors, like on this backpacking trip to the Ozette Triangle Loop in Olympic National Park or on our many beach walks.
It is even how we picked up a discarded Belle Barbie as our adventure mascot on an Oregon Coast road trip in 2020. After our Ozette trip we posted a few pictures on Instagram about our beach haul for a giveaway from Deuter and they sent us some dedicated garbage bags we carry in our packs now. They are Belle Barbie approved!
One of the best things that happens when we do this is that we end up talking with folks we would not normally strike up a conversation with. People will either naturally stop to say something about what you are doing or at the least, you can hear them talking amongst each other about it. Kids will ask their parents what we are doing. I hope that we are encouraging them to pick up trash on their next visit.
Going into 2025 I am also hoping to volunteer more with Evan Reed, a young man who runs a local non-profit Bunker Arts Collective, who leads clean ups and murals through out the City of Everett where I live. This Sunday I was able to help at my second such event, one that took place a few minutes from my home.
We have a new small business grocery store going into a building abandoned by Bartell’s around 2022 and the clean up was to welcome them to the neighborhood and pick up the surrounding area. It had a great turn out, some folks from Green Snohomish joined in. You can read more about Evan’s work here.
As I suspected, most of the folks who were there today live nearby like me and it was a chance to connect with my neighbors and our community. I must admit as an introvert, this is out of my comfort zone but events like this help me break the ice. We got to meet the owners who came out to thank us and even brought us some home made tea!
As with all of these events, it has given me an opportunity to see my neighborhood in a slower light rather than just a drive-by. It is why I like riding my bike and using the bus for my commute, I see things differently and notice my surroundings in a way I would not normally observe. You can live somewhere for years and move around it rotely but when you chose intentionality you are welcomed to experiencing it with fresh eyes.
It also helps me counter my own internal thoughts that naturally want to disparage others who litter. Now mind you, that disparagement is usually justified and I have to admit it breeds a distaste for my fellow man. However, if all I do is fixate on that I do not leave room for empathy or understanding for others around me. I don’t want others’ behaviors to change who I am.
Othering is often subtle and may involve unconscious assumptions about others. Here are some signs of this phenomenon:
- Attributing positive qualities to people who are like you and negative qualities to people who are different from you
- Believing that people who are different from you or your social group pose a threat to you or your way of life
- Feeling distrustful or upset with people of a social group even though you don’t know anyone from that group
- Refusing to interact with people because they are different from you or your social group
- Thinking that people outside your social group are not as intelligent, skilled, or as special as you and your group
- Thinking of people only in terms of their relationship with specific social groups without giving any thought to them as individuals
As we look to the years ahead, building community and network is one way we can counter the “othering” of our neighbors and realize we have more in common than we are lead to believe. Of course, events like this will bring together like-minded people but that commonality does not mean we agree on everything. It can help us see people as human beings just like us and foster conversations we might not otherwise have to help share varying perspectives and lived experiences. The world would like us to think that most things are mutually exclusive from each other but that is less often than we think.
There are ways you, too, can connect with your environment either when by yourself or in hopes of connecting with your community. If you have something you enjoy, odds are you can find a way to add some advocacy or “giving back” to it. Aside from picking up garbage, I have found ways to contribute like joining trail work crews and donating knitted items. All of these have led to me being able to meet people I would not normally get to know with whom I share a common interest and yet are different than me.
Here are some suggestions for your online search:
- Buy Nothing “Insert Where You Live”
- Green “Insert Where You Live”
- “Insert What You Love” Donations
- “Insert What You Love” Volunteers or Volunteering
- “Insert Your City” Volunteering
And if you are feeling even more brave, you might do a search with an interest or group you want to learn more about!
How about you? Are you already countering the “othering”? Are you looking for ways to create more community in your own neighborhood? Share your ideas!
Thank you so much for stopping by Must Hike Must Eat!
If you need some healthy eating inspiration start here:..
Need some eating out suggestions when friends want to stop after a hike? I have a Pacific Northwest Eating Guide here.
Find out what’s been happening outside the blog:
If you have a question you don’t want to post in the comments, you can ask them here:
Discover more from Must Hike Must Eat
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.