No man is an island,
Entire of itself,
Every man is a piece of the continent,
A part of the main.
 [ … ]  
Any man’s death diminishes me,
Because I am involved in mankind,
And therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; 
It tolls for thee.

John Donne

Hello!

Welcome to BetterTogether, an online platform conceived to unite and inspire people.

When it comes to acknowledging facing the world’s current issues, I realize it can quickly become a bit overwhelming, and that it is difficult to know where to start to make a difference.

I believe that the change starts within every single individual, through small but meaningful actions that don’t even imply great sacrifices.

I also know it can sometimes feel lonely to undertake these actions, if the people surrounding us don’t understand or are not willing to do the same. That’s what we are here for.

I am a part-time solo-traveller, and a part time student. Through my travels, I want to focus and learn about what unites us all, despite all of our differences. This has inspired me in so many ways, and I want to share some of it with you.

BetterTogether will constantly suggest you new ideas of what you can do to make this world a better place, whether it is on an environmental, social or any other level, through our weekly challenges. The idea is that we all take up the same challenges together, so that we can share our experiences and feel supported in our actions towards a better world.

I will regurlarly share a new inspiring story of people who are actively participating in creating a better future for everyone, in the categorie “Their stories”.

Besides that, in the categorie “Sowanders” I will also talk about some of the lessons I get to experience in my traveller’s life and show you some of the wonders I come across. You can use it as a reminder of how amazingly beautiful this planet and its people are.

Feel free to participate in any challenge that inspires you and to then share your story with us. You can do that here or through our facebook group. Every week, I will write an article to present the best stories you send me, and share it here and on our facebook page, hoping to reach as many people as possible to convert to our cause.

And it starts with you! Are you ready to take up the challenge? It starts here.

Also, don’t hesitate to give me any kind of feedback. It will be greatly appreciated.

Have fun with BetterTogether!

Sowanders.

BetterTogether was born after a simple observation : there’s a hell lot of problems out there, and it is easy to feel overwhelmed about it, not knowing where to start to make things better.This is worsened by the very individualistic mindsets that we are encouraged to adopt: it’s so tempting to look the other way! We are encouraged to be more competitive, more selfish, more beautiful, when what we should be doing is encouraging each other to create a better world, to be more compassionate, to care more about our planet, to waste less time on things that don’t matter and spend more doing things that could make a difference.

 People say we have violence in us, that it is human nature, and that it will never change. It all sounds terribly daunting. And it’s true, to a certain extent… But when I look around me, that’s not what I see. I see love everywhere. Despite all the bad, everyday, I keep being inspired by all the love that I see around me. And the more love you have in you the less place you leave for hate. It’s as simple as that.
I guess what I’m trying to say is that, maybe we should stop being so pessimistic and focus on the good instead?

It’s not about being right or wrong anymore. We’re all in this together. Differences are illusions created by fear of the unknown. But whether we want it or not, things are changing. So do we want to keep driving towards the edge of the cliff or do we want to steer the wheel while it is still time ? Are we going to give up so easily ? Look at everything we’ve built, everything we’ve discovered. Would any of these things have been possible if we had just given up when things had gotten difficult ? It’s the same with successful, happy people: they overcome difficulties.

I know, the difficulties facing us are huge ones. Have you ever been depressed, as if you were in a dark hole from which you thought you could never get out of, but you eventually saw the light again? The world is in that dark state right now, in a deep depression that has started a long time ago and has only gotten worse and worse, as a result of a long self-destroying process. And as any depressed person, to continue the metaphor, it needs more than only be constantly reminded of everything it did and still does wrong. It needs to be encouraged. It needs to have someone take its hand and tell it : « Okay, you’ve really fucked up, like, badly. But it’s okay, I still love you and believe in you despite everything. You’re still beautiful to me and I’m ready to help you get better, to get back on your feet. You can count on me to support your healing process. »

That person is you and me, is all the people of the world talking to all the other people of the world and holding their hands and forgiving themselves for fucking up and deciding to do better, to be better, and supporting each other to do that and to create a better world ; a happy one, a loving one.

Yes, the people higher up, the 1 %, the ones who have all the power and money are controlling the planet and taking decisions that are destroying it, but we’re letting them do it. They need us, the 99 %, to do it. So, hating them will not change anything. Let’s concentrate on what we can do, and stop supporting the ways of thinking that they have implanted in us : they’ll slowly lose their power over us without us even needing to fight them. That’s what would happen in a consumerist society without consumers, fear-based political campaigns with fearless citizens or wars without fighters!

So, which side to you want to be one – hate or love?

If you’re on the world’s side, join us and help us spread the word, through small, but mindful and heartfull actions.Whoever you are, wherever you are in your life, you are welcome to take up the challenge with us. Let’s all become better together!

Thank you.

Sowanders