Starting Again
Hi! I feel a bit discombobulated this morning. I spent yesterday at the mini horse farm, struggling with important issues like will the new yearling integrate into the herd? (she did) will Ollie get nailed by the black cat (he did) will Stella learn to stop barking at the neighbor’s buffalo? (she did not) or can the grandkids beat my husband in Rummy? Not yet, but close.
These things occupied my mind completely, as I sat on the deck under trees sporting their shiny green brand new leaves.. and I found that I just didn’t want to leave this simple place. I breathed in rejuvenation and peace. I will come back again!
Here I am this morning, back home. My respite at the farm made me realize that no matter how much I say I am taking care of myself, I’m not really and that is not what we need to do right now. It is not self care, it is SURVIVAL. We are shouldering the burdens of this fight, and it is critical that we all know we are in it for the long haul, and make it do-able in our own lives. Yes we are making sacrifices in time, effort and money. But an empty basket helps no one.
We need to remember, if one of us steps back for a minute another will step forward. We will all take our turns! We will make this happen!
I loved the gatherings Saturday—I will no longer say we are protesting. I will say we are protecting. That is so much more accurate. We are protecting our America. It continues to be disappointing to me that the mainstream news carries so little coverage of the events—but we can’t be distracted by that. We see it. We see us, and the gatherings are a way for us to see each other and know we are not alone.
I have been so proud of the institutions that are standing up against the tyrant- Harvard University is maybe unwittingly leading others by refusing to succumb. Other Universities, law firms, the courts…helping the people. Courage is contagious!
And all of us doing little things makes a difference. I have read of protectors going to their local grocery store with a single sign—all they could do, but when they arrived others gathered around them in impromptu solidarity making a statement in their small community.
So keep your voice heard any way you can even if it is whisper some days. Make calls, talk to your neighbors, talk to the checkout girl at the grocery.. keep you voice heard, and if it is quiet today, know that on a different day it will be a roar!
Calling ourselves protectors, instead of protesters, make such an enormous, psychological difference! We really need to adopt the change in language broadly! It moves our motives from our heads to our hearts!
I was in line for the sweetest checkout woman at a store I frequent. We exchanged the pleasantries and then she leaned over and quietly said “I think we are starting to see a shift” of course I knew what she meant and for a split second I had to accept that this woman I only know as the sweet one behind the checkout revealed that she was fighting too and that she cared. Not a person I would expect to see at a protection rally, but in that moment I wanted to hug her. It truly is the little things that add up! Thank you Janie for your wisdom and sharing!