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<\/p>\nI first posted this on January 2, 2017, right after the presidential election. I’m putting it up again as a reminder of how important it is to take care of our mental well-being in troubled times.<\/p>\n
Recently, I\u2019ve noticed more articles on staying grounded in joy and hope, even when surrounded by fear. Perhaps such articles have always been part of the general social media discourse and I am only now becoming sufficiently calm to notice them. But I rather think (hope!<\/em>) this is a trend. In me, it certainly is. After the initial rounds of fear and trepidation, the constant adrenaline wore off. I\u2019m not naturally a person who enjoys being fearful; from my experience training dogs, I suspect it\u2019s not an appealing state for most of us. Some, I suppose, enjoy the \u201chigh\u201d of confrontation, even violence, but I\u2019m not among them. Harming others and myself is not where I want to live my life.<\/p>\n I see also posts affirming commitment to action, often in terms of \u201cWe Will Fight On!\u201d and I\u2019ve been resisting the urge to jump on that bandwagon. (Also the \u201cOrganize the Resistance\u201d brigade.) It all sounds so necessary, a matter of putting my money where my mouth is. And is just as unrealistic for me as remaining in that state of terrified fury.<\/p>\n As unhealthy.<\/p>\n I am not objecting to others following the paths to which they are led. Resisting fascism and protecting the most vulnerable are inarguably vital to our survival as individuals, communities, and a society. I am thrilled that people have the drive and knowledge to organize such resistance. I will be right there, cheering them on. But I won\u2019t be in the forefront.<\/p>\n It\u2019s taken me a long time, coming from a family of dyed-in-the-wool organizers (labor unions, radical politics, war resistance, etc.) to come to terms with not being one of them. Undoubtedly, seeing the cost to my family played a role in my reluctance. I\u2019ve marched in my share of civil rights and anti-war demonstrations, written a gazillion letters, painted an equal number of signs. But it\u2019s not where my heart is. I\u2019ve seen the joy in the eyes of those for whom this is their passion, their \u201cthing.\u201d I want to hug them all and say, \u201cI\u2019m so glad you\u2019re out there, doing this for both of us.\u201d<\/p>\n The fallacy is that making the world a better place is an either\/or proposition.\u00a0Either<\/em>\u00a0I\u2019m out there, making headlines by facilitating events of vast numbers for the people\u2019s revolution (as an example),\u00a0or<\/em>\u00a0I\u2019m sitting at home, knitting while Yosemite burns.<\/p>\n The fact is, any social movement happens on many levels. There\u2019s the outward, banner-headline, political level, one that often requires organization on a national or international level. There is a community level, supporting your neighbors, particularly those in need. Soup kitchens are just as necessary as demonstrations outside the White House, although they serve fewer people. Taking care of ourselves and our families is yet another.<\/p>\n Quiet, mindful actions that focus on compassion, justice, and unity need not be limited to small numbers. In fact, outward activism must be balanced by inner activism. We can all find where we are called to act along that spectrum, and we can move back and forth (or in and out, whichever image works best) with circumstances, experience, and energy levels. What a relief to realize I don\u2019t have to pick one thing or level of involvement!<\/p>\n So what speaks to me right now is remembering joy. The year to come is almost certainly going to be full of occasions for grimness if not despair, so I don\u2019t want to start off that way. I want to fill up my \u201csavings account of hope\u201d as much as I can, cultivating those people, places, and things that lift my spirits. I want to never, ever let go of believing we can survive this, kindness and persistence will triumph, and no matter how dark it may seem at the moment, love will win.<\/p>\n I refuse my consent to fascism. I also refuse my consent to despair.<\/p>\n I affirm that I will cling tenaciously \u2013 relentlessly \u2013 to hope, and I invite you to do so, too.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I first posted this on January 2, 2017, right after the presidential election. I’m putting it up again as a reminder of how important it is to take care of our mental well-being in troubled times. Recently, I\u2019ve noticed more articles on staying grounded in joy and hope, even when surrounded by fear. Perhaps such […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16,17],"tags":[309,76,537,471],"class_list":["post-2143","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-essays","category-rants","tag-hope","tag-mental-health","tag-political-activism","tag-toxic-politics"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/treehousewriters.com\/wp53\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2143","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/treehousewriters.com\/wp53\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/treehousewriters.com\/wp53\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/treehousewriters.com\/wp53\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/treehousewriters.com\/wp53\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2143"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/treehousewriters.com\/wp53\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2143\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2144,"href":"https:\/\/treehousewriters.com\/wp53\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2143\/revisions\/2144"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/treehousewriters.com\/wp53\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2143"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/treehousewriters.com\/wp53\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2143"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/treehousewriters.com\/wp53\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2143"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}