What joy can I hold on to this morning?
Last night: A wonderful intergenerational dinner last night - mothers & daughters and our book lists, laughs about loving/hating cooking, toasts to celebratory life changes and sharing flavorful food - naan dipped in labna drizzled with oil, spicy calamari rings, green beans with rich pomegranate sauce, plates of roasted red and golden beets that I absolutely should have taken a picture of.
This moment: A made-at-home iced coffee with SO MUCH ICE and a swirl of cardamom syrup as some extra TLC.
Soon: Time protected today to volunteer - registering voters at the Food Bank with a friend, wearing our orange "Protect Democracy" shirts. Then a fairly easy afternoon, some time to catch-up on email and open hours to prep for a busy week next week.
Tonight: An adult sleep over at my parents - with good food, a Scrabble game, and an early bedtime with a book. How lucky am I to have this blessing?
And yet...
My rage is simmering just below the surface. ICE murdering people and creating daily chaos, fear, and harm. Death of a politician who spread evil, abusing his positional power. Bombs exploding far from home, soldiers leaving long-time allied nations, the threat of war being tossed around daily. Surveillance cameras tracking humans, social media hurting kids - lining the pocket books of tech billionaires who tell us again and again, they do not care. And federal and state leaders who make me cringe (on a good day) and scream and cry (on too many days) - feeding us lies, deepening and multiplying injustice, and demonizing our neighbors.
So I remember...
You do have some big emotions- and I appreciated the glimpses into why you feel the way you do.
ReplyDeleteSome days it’s hard to have hope. But every time I hear of a person who used to support those in power but are now questioning, I feel hope. When more tired out for the Pride parade than I expected, I felt hope. When I see decisions that claw back just a little of what has been stripped away, I feel hope. We all must keep working though..
Linda, I love each of your examples - a mind changed, a full Pride, the many fighters out there - they are all hope vitamins!!!
DeleteLisa, your post echoes my heart and mind at this sad juncture of time. I was actually paralyzed with anxiety and sadness for the past couple of weeks and my writing became hate-filled as I have tried to process the distraction of a leaking old pool when people are being swept up, sent to distant shores and killed. BUT, as you said, we cannot give up or he wins! WE MUST be out there helping, checking on people, reaching out to potential voters, sending a message that we are not alone. YOUR HELP is critical to getting us out of this horrible chapter of time.
ReplyDeleteI stand with every word you've shared here, and hope we can continue to find ways to boost each other when the hate takes up too much space and we feel like we're losing. HOPE, LIGHT and LOVE will lead us forward!
DeleteYour piece is so powerful, all the more so because you begin with such beautiful examples of moments to appreciate our lives (love details of the caramel swirl and the t-shirts.) then you move on to rage and we feel it viscerally. But you end with resolve and even include two beautiful links! Thanks for that :) One thing I keep in mind is that we cannot let all the injustice and greed and abuses of power - we cannot let them sour our days. I think you are saying just that.
ReplyDeleteI so appreciate your comment, Fran - I'm trying to hold beauty and rage, and I think the bridge to sanity, for me, is taking action, to make sure the injustice and greed and abuses of power are matched with justice and care and light and love, again and again and again.
Delete"And yet..." Oh, that turning point. This is such a powerful post. I have so much to be grateful for, but your post reminds me that I need to step up my actions. Demonstrating on occasion and calling my senator isn't enough. What else might I do? You have me pondering how to act to oppose and also how to act to build connections and maintain hope. Thank you for writing so honestly about your thoughts.
ReplyDeleteThe details you incorporated had me feeling all your ups and downs. It is a real struggle to keep optimistic i these challenging times. One thing that has helped me a bit is being more actively involved in democrats Abroad. I appreciate your honesty and calls to action.
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