This wasn’t what I was going to post today, but I have had several conversations with folks this week where it’s clear people are feeling a bit despondent.
And yes, every day in the US, it seems as though there is a new way of excluding people, or preventing access to fair and decent treatment, fair and decent education, fair and decent healthcare, and a fair and decent environment, among other things.
This is not a political newsletter - I enjoy working with people on both sides of the aisle in the US. There are many good (and crazy) people along all parts of the spectrum. And….when treatment is unjust, or when it benefits a few at the expense of the many, or when it seeks to make the powerful only more powerful, it is also responsible to say so.
Because our next chapter does not belong to just a few. It belongs to all of us. And we should all get to hold a pen that writes our own next chapter. We may not all have a fancy pen, but any old pen, or piece of chalk, or pencil will do. We just have to pick it up. And hand out a few more pens to others as well.
But hope for humanity, along with a commitment to holding ourselves accountable, IS tiring. I get that. And honestly, we can’t do it all the time.
It’s ok to have a day when you scream a little, or sigh and draw the curtains closed, or go binge some Netflix. It’s ok to shut off the email and just play with the puppy for a bit, or go take a nap, or take a hike somewhere you can pretend you’re the only person left in the world, or make some hot tea and have an extra cookie.
You might need to do one or more of those things (often!) so that you can keep coming back to us with refreshed spirit and a renewed belief that humans can do better. We need you here - right here - as often as you can bear it.
But not more than that.
All I can say is, I know in my soul, that it’s worth it - our time and attention and attachment and caring. I don’t know how or why or what ‘bigger’ purpose it all serves. I just know that the opposite simply can’t be true. I know that our human happiness depends on continuing to believe in each other and appreciating both the grandeur and the ordinariness about this world.
We are messy and we’re fragile. But we’re also resilient and beautiful. And so is the world around us - all of those things.
It’s all worth savoring and saving, and doing better along the way.
But be gentle and enjoy another cup of tea first. I’m going to.
Thank you for writing this. Reading it lead to the first time the tears spilled over and started to flow. It's so easy to get disheartened. It's been a tough week. I'm going to go play with my puppy now.