There is a lot that will be happening in the next few years, starting with grotesque abuses of the citizens and noncitizens who reside within our borders, by wealthy, malevolent, and powerful people. I am not inclined to make predictions or doomscroll (any more than I already have), but it’s an understatement to say things will not become better. We can, however, become better individuals and build better communities. There are opportunities for light, even in the shadows.
I will read after action reports, transcripts, see video clips of the inauguration down the road. No amount of context will make any of that better, so the Cliff Notes version will serve just fine and deny narcissists that which they hunger for – undue attention, time, and energy. Watching a circle jerk of maladjusted megalomaniacs and C-List performers is an exercise in masochism. It’s not for me. It’s not, I suspect, for a lot of us.
Tomorrow will be a day of contemplation for me. Instead of shooting off MLK memes and quotes in every direction, I’ll read again his “Letter from Birmingham Jail” and reflect on those words. I will move through my day with infinite tenderness. I will call some friends. I might write a poem or forty. I will putter on the piano and fill the birdfeeders. I will be quiet in response to a world that will be braying and loud. I want to spend my day honoring beauty and joy and simple pleasures. There is plenty of time for fierceness and anger and outrage and activism. It’s going to be a long haul and we have to remain in touch with our humanity, with the things that fill us with love for this world and for the fragile creatures that live in it – the love that drives us to protect the vulnerable and risk our own comfort in doing so. Living a meaningful, compassionate life will take more work than ever before. It’s time to start practicing.
Be well, my friends.
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