History repeats itself. And today we embark on a kind of rewind as we hurl forward. Our previous President is back in office, surrounded by billionaires and yes-men. With a wave of his pen he pretends to cancel progress.
What are empaths and creatives to do at a time like this? Are we angry, sad, confused, exhausted?
We get to care for ourselves and each other. We get to look out for and talk to our neighbors--of all persuasions, not just those exactly like us--as we navigate a slippery information age. Face to face conversations. Deep listening. Taking the risk of reaching towards each other rather than turning away. Seeking out source material.
Community and collaboration encourage trust. Trust builds stronger bonds. And a cohesive organism can speak up, resist, navigate.
And music helps. It always helps. Put on some of your favorite tunes and let them work their magic.
Trying Times
Trying times. Unprecedented. These challenging times.
Every article you read or news story you listen to, you will hear these words this year. As if life on Earth as a human had never been challenging before. As if we all were just sailing along, living our best lives, happy and successful, until the pandemic side-swiped us. Well, it did side-swipe us. But we have all had some form of challenge before. Some of us our whole lives. Might there be a way to see the opportunity in this? As people, as a community, as families, as neighbors?
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A light has been shed upon many of the ugly, hidden aspects of our society. Many who needed new lessons in humility, patience, empathy and even in American history, systemic power structures, and the dynamics of marginalization are getting those lessons.
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We have been forced to let go of our busy. All the things that were on the calendar. All the rushing from place to place. We can now re-assess what we might put back on the list if we could, and what can be abandoned because we didn't need it anyway.
- When we have the time and space to sit still, we can become better acquainted with our true nature. We are the observers of our own experience. What stories are we holding onto? What do we assume all the time about ourselves and those we love most? Can we shed any of that? Re-work it?
Some of us are just hanging on to survival instincts right now. Those who are ill and hospitalized and those who care for them. Those who are displaced by fire or eviction. Those who are victims of violence. But for the rest of us, we wonder "What can I do?", "How can I make a difference?'. And we may start with this, yes, unprecedented time, to turn inward, to ask of ourselves what is truly important, to shape who we will be going forward. Won't you try with me?
Born 20 years too late...
I'm a folk singer, housewife, mama, and community volunteer. If I had been born in 1951, instead of 1971, I would have been famous.
As it is, I surround myself with nostalgia, long for a simpler time, and try to drag myself into the present through songwriting, singing, spiritual discovery, meditation, and sarcasm.