How can we create beauty and discover joy in a world so badly wounded by the machinations of our modern culture?

This is a question that Trebbe Johnson strives to answer, both philosophically and in practice, through her work with Radical Joy For Hard Times.

I was so moved by Trebbe's book — also called Radical Joy For Hard Times — when I read it last fall that I ended up joining the Board of Directors for Rad Joy, because I felt that the organization's mission lined up quite neatly with my own: to learn how to deal with and heal with damaged and degraded landscapes, and to encourage others to do the same.

In this conversation, Trebbe and I talk about:

how she came to start the organization;

how we, as individuals, and as a culture, might come to terms with the wounded places that surround us;

how and why to practice radical joy;

the role of activism in the face of overwhelming obstacles;

and why, according to Albert Camus, "one must imagine Sisyphus happy" even as he absurdly pushes a boulder up a mountain for eternity.



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