Hi Friends,
I hope this holiday season you can take an intentional moment to look at the sky, the moon, a bird flying overhead, a squirrel chattering in a tree, anything to take you out of the whirlwind of this time of year and into something bigger and calmer around you.
I’m not going to ask more of you right now because I know your plate is already too full. I do want to share some resources and encouragement for when you find a quiet moment or need a gentle arm around your shoulders, to feel less alone in so much uncertainty and overwhelm.
I do want to take a moment to acknowledge two things that are keeping my attention right now.
First, while traditions and holiday celebrations can be rooting and joyful and a way to connect with others, when they become such a burden that you lose yourself or you just can’t wait for them to be over, notice that. All of these things that we do are made up — some for good reasons, some less so — and we get to CHOOSE what we do, what we keep, what we let go of. Please consider your values (not just others’ expectations) and make conscious choices about what you do and do not do with your time and energy.
And I don’t mean this as one of those trite “self-care during the holidays” messages. My hope for you with the new year (or because it’s Saturday, whatever), is that you take the time to set some intentions about what you value and how you are going to live into your values going forward. Not because our capitalist society said so or because you feel obligated by patriarchal norms, but because you see the systemic oppression all around us and you are pushing back against the “rules” that other people have created to keep us divided, in competition, and apart from each other. See the structures around you and choose what you comply with or resist, with eyes wide open.
The second thing is the underlying current of grief that I feel, especially during this time of year when we are bombarded by messages of togetherness and love and consumerism. There are many people for whom the holidays are particularly challenging because they have recently lost loved ones, because they are not living the life they thought they would be, because they can’t afford the gifts they want to give, because they are chronically ill, because they are unhoused, because they just got laid off, because of so many things that don’t magically get solved because it’s the holiday season.
The contrast between the social messaging we receive (everyone is joyful and kind to each other!) and the reality that we do not yet take care of each other enough as a society, as a country, is jarring to me. I keep this feeling close to my heart because I would rather feel the pain and grief of reality than to pretend that everything is fine and I just need to smile and buy more stuff.
If your grief has turned to despair, take heart in Clarissa Pinkola Estés’s “Letter to a Young Activist in Troubled Times” (originally written in 2001). Please also check out a recent offering from David Dean called “Solidarity in the Face of MAGA” that I highly recommend.
If you’re looking for organizations doing the work of building the world we want to live in and for uplifting and empowering news, please check these out:
- The Redress Movement
- The Revolutionary Love Project (for an example, check out this update from November 2024)
- Indivisible and their “Practical Guide to Democracy on the Brink”
- This article on Truthout from Mark Engler & Paul Engler of Waging Nonviolence and this article about ways to be prepared.
- This article about ways communities affected by Hurricane Helene are rebuilding and supporting each other.
- For a deeper dive, check out this interview with Cornell West.
- And especially for those who are parents or caregivers, check out this interview with Maya Schenwar and Kim Wilson about their book, We Grow the World Together: Parenting Toward Abolition.
And, a quick reminder that my new endeavor, Reconciling Our Roots, is taking new clients!
Sending love,
Emily
Listen. Amplify. Follow. In Solidarity.