This is not the end.
This is the great remembering.
This is the return.
This is the beginning.And I am so grateful you are here to see it.
–Gabrielle Feather, what to tell children at the end of the world…
If you are alive in the present day political environment and capitalist economy, you have probably had many moments of alarm, fear, concern, unease, and discomfort over the direction in which the U.S. as a country appears to be going. You have probably wondered what to do. You have probably read articles and written letters and made phone calls and attended marches. You have probably felt too small in the face of so much chaos and destruction. You may have felt helpless, powerless, frustrated, and alone.
I have appreciated Marianne Williamson’s insightful wisdom and political commentary since 2016 (and of course respected her as an author long before that!). This recent article from her, God Help Us, is a good one, though it does suffer from the same flaw as many things I read online lately, which it is that it is a passionate call to action without actual examples of what action. I find myself increasingly frustrated by continued chastisements to do more, without concretes on what this mysterious something is that everyone should be doing. The comments on Marianne’s post do include some additional concrete examples. In a similar vein, we can continue to count on Starhawk for being a voice of reason, a passionate activist, and a devoted spiritual leader and social justice advocate. Her recent post also urges us all to Do Something.
In overcoming the sense of being small and helpless, I think it is important to recognize that each of us can act in different ways—there is no single “right choice,” but rather a myriad of small choices that contribute to a collective change effort. Some of us may attend protests, some of us may plant gardens, some of us make art, some of us may write letters and call legislators, some of us may run for city council, some of us may get directly involved in legislation, some of us may write articles online.
This is a very challenging and heart-wrenching time with seemingly a new horror unveiled every day. And, yet, we do have to focus on what we can do. Posting on social media telling other people they need to do more can’t be enough. I also think that continuing to say “do more” and “do something” often doesn’t lead to meaningful action—it often leads to either inertia/inaction OR to an echo chamber of social media saying/bemoaning the same things without any suggestions for what TO do.
For me, I focus my energy on building community and on writing (and I also go to the library!). And, I make recurrent monthly donations to political action organizations. I find automatic, recurrent donations are best because then you don’t fall into the trap of deciding you don’t have “enough” to make a donation this month, instead it is just automatically contributed.
I find it is important to focus on what we can do and then DO that, instead of becoming immobilized by fear that we aren’t doing enough (and thus contributing nothing).
I also find this Social Change ecosystem graphic super helpful in reminding myself of how many avenues towards change are possible.
As I continued to think about this topic, I started to collect other recent reads that I’ve found personally helpful. The first a treasure from Jennifer Louden:
“I insist on asking, passionately, how do we preserve our humanity?
This isn’t about self-care or giving up social media or taking more deep breaths; it’s far bigger than that.
It’s about staying human to preserve the world we love.”
And, an amazing list from Joy Lynn Okoye:
“4. Let Joy Be a Middle Finger to the Apocalypse
Fascism thrives on fear, on breaking our spirits. So laugh. Find a song that makes you dance. Pet a dog. Eat something delicious. Read something absurd. Small joys are not frivolous — they are defiance…”
My own recent essay on Feminism and Religion also touches on this: Showing Up as does one I wrote five years ago too: Nourishing Wholeness in a Fractured World.
Gabrielle Feather whom I quoted in the beginning of this post also has a helpful post about collapse awareness as just the beginning.
And, I close today without any sparkling words of shimmering genius, but what I have to share as well as a picture from last week: a broken redbud tree still blooming with everything it has left to share.
Today,
remember
to keep simple ceremonies,
to live slow poems,
to make small magic,
to be alert for enchantment,
to trust the network
of unseen marvels
beneath your feet,
to move in the direction
of the expansive,
the great field of possibility
and belonging
in which we live
each day.
