Thank you... "it’s so important to choose curiosity over certainty in a moment that asks us to create something entirely new. This is that moment." THANK YOU. Your writing is a true gift.
I've had a single thought repeating today - there is still room for laughter, there is still room for love, there is still room for joyous moments, there is still room for creativity, there is room for all of it. And even though I'm not ready to cross boundaries yet or to extend an understanding yet, I can for myself and the small community I have extend things that make me laugh, things that I love, things that bring me back to myself/ourselves.
Thank you for this Andrea, dear friend. So much love to you <3
So beautifully said. My wife shared Tara Brach’s post-election podcast with me; she echoes much of what you’ve written. We’re not going to have universal consciousness and enlightenment tomorrow, but there are enough of us moving in that direction. Who knows what is possible? Peace to all.
I was so inspired, both by Andrea's extraordinary letter and by this podcast by Tara Brach, and I thank you for it from my deepest heart. I have my own Substack, which will come out tomorrow, and I created a link to Andrea's incredibly beautiful post AND to the podcast as well. I have sent the link to this podcast to many people, including many of my friends and clients: inspiring, enlivening, possibility-opening. A settling took place deep within me upon listening to it. Thank you, thank you, thank you for posting this. I may never have come across it had you not.
Thanks for sharing this. I hope people are moving closer to being more conscious...Closer would certainly be a great improvement even if it weren't perfection.
I appreciate hopeful messages after the election. I think in many ways the idea that voting alone can save us, or that the democrats will have our bests interests at heart eventually (when their leaders are still killing Palestinians en masse) has caused the hopelessness, because we are seeing our expectations not being met. We need to reset our expectations for what will save us to be focused around building community, and finding radical joy in that act. Thank you💛
I like this Sara. It feels like it's hard to find other people who recognize this and are willing to do something - anything - about it. I hope this is a place where people can find like-minded folk.
Yes agreed--I think so much of the incrementally changing systems or burning down systems isn't serving us or is making us exhausted. I really am landing on the idea of turning away from toxic systems and building alternative systems of care right now. It's an experiment but feels like a worthy one.
Look up the NDN Collective video “Vote Like a Radical”. We never learned that voting isn’t a message about our values, it’s “picking the opponent we are best equipped to fight”.
Thank you!!! Your words, as always, are calming and logical and hopeful.
But my truth is that I loathe Trump AND 73 million other “people?”, “monsters?”, who think his brand of racism, sexism and cruelty are good for this country. I am a black woman, astonished and ashamed of my so-called fellow country-people. It’s too tragic, too raw, too unbelievable for me to get to a place of hope. It’s going to take me AT LEAST 4.5 years to get there—-this I know for sure. I’m disappointed and disheartened. I have spelled the U.S.A. “amerikkka” since the 2016 election, and I don’t see that changing soon—perhaps ever. The sadness is overwhelming. It’s always been about keeping amerikkka as white as can be, regardless of what it costs it’s citizens.
Yes it always has been, we are just experiencing more of what the powerful elite founded this country on. You'd think we would have come up with something better by now. But they still control the minds of the masses. Just as much as when they pitted poor whites against newly freed slaves but only with way more money, and twitter. I'm raging with you, for you, even. So you can rest (resist) for a minute.
Yes, thank you. I've been thinking about fear (which can manifest as hate) and love like the story of the turtle and the hare. Fear may be more powerful at first, but if we stick with Love, it wins in the end. ❤️
Andrea thank you for this, from my heart. I love the idea of a "what's my job" party with community. I've been reflecting so much on this season as winter approaches, in more ways than one. I think one of our jobs this coming season is to germinate radical dreams of how to weave communities together. To your friends point, “If we can’t imagine it, we can’t create it.” And this is the time to radically dream alternatives as a practice.
I will be quoting from this on a panel on “Hope and Resilience” in the coming week. And it reminded me I have Ruha Benjamin’s “Imagination: A Manifesto” cued up to read as we break out of dominant narratives that may be limiting our ability to conceive of things like community over capitalism. Grateful for these words this morning…and beyond.
Seeing your name at the top of my inbox this morning gave me that flutter one feels when someone dear presents you with a gift. You don’t know what’s inside, but you already love it. I read this over and over. Thank you.
"...and I think to myself what a wonderful world...." I felt a new, bursting to live, shoot of Love and Hope rise up inside me through reading your words. Now it is my duty and honour to water it. Thank you so much Andrea for planting seeds in the community garden of our one beating heart xxx
Thank you Andrea. I'm not from the US but I followed the elections. A few days later, my own country had elections too. And 'what do I do next ?' has been on my mind since. I'm not good at politics. However, I am a psychologist and I've been thinking that healing trauma is what I do best (not that I'm the best at it 😉) Helping people feel safe again, or for the first time, will help the fear to subside, and build curiosity towards those they dont know instead of paranoia. And maybe they would see each other as partners instead of enemies. So, that will be my contribution.
This is my favorite post ever! 🥰 Thank you for the garden that is your heart. Thank you for watering us with love and reminding us of the beauty inside and among us.
My wife and I are having a giant potluck on Jan 19th. I am going to incorporate the idea of "I can't see what I can DO" in it somehow...maybe as a nametag/notetag where others jot observations about the nametag wearer with whom they interact...something like that. I can imagine two hundred people walking around getting kind affirmations from friends and strangers and I LOVE it. Thank you for the words and the inspiration. You and your wife are welcome if you're in Tucson that day (or any other).
Thank you... "it’s so important to choose curiosity over certainty in a moment that asks us to create something entirely new. This is that moment." THANK YOU. Your writing is a true gift.
YES!!! That exact sentence! 🗣️🧠♥️🙏📚🪷
I've had a single thought repeating today - there is still room for laughter, there is still room for love, there is still room for joyous moments, there is still room for creativity, there is room for all of it. And even though I'm not ready to cross boundaries yet or to extend an understanding yet, I can for myself and the small community I have extend things that make me laugh, things that I love, things that bring me back to myself/ourselves.
Thank you for this Andrea, dear friend. So much love to you <3
Exactly!!
Laughter is The Best Medicine!😂😹🙏
Pretty much my strategy, too.
So beautifully said. My wife shared Tara Brach’s post-election podcast with me; she echoes much of what you’ve written. We’re not going to have universal consciousness and enlightenment tomorrow, but there are enough of us moving in that direction. Who knows what is possible? Peace to all.
Here’s the link to that podcast if you’d like to listen to it: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/tara-brach/id265264862?i=1000676130880
I was so inspired, both by Andrea's extraordinary letter and by this podcast by Tara Brach, and I thank you for it from my deepest heart. I have my own Substack, which will come out tomorrow, and I created a link to Andrea's incredibly beautiful post AND to the podcast as well. I have sent the link to this podcast to many people, including many of my friends and clients: inspiring, enlivening, possibility-opening. A settling took place deep within me upon listening to it. Thank you, thank you, thank you for posting this. I may never have come across it had you not.
Thank you for the link 🩷
Thanks for sharing this. I hope people are moving closer to being more conscious...Closer would certainly be a great improvement even if it weren't perfection.
I appreciate hopeful messages after the election. I think in many ways the idea that voting alone can save us, or that the democrats will have our bests interests at heart eventually (when their leaders are still killing Palestinians en masse) has caused the hopelessness, because we are seeing our expectations not being met. We need to reset our expectations for what will save us to be focused around building community, and finding radical joy in that act. Thank you💛
Yes! this this this. *the* work right now is finding each other, germinating dreams of robust community together.
I like this Sara. It feels like it's hard to find other people who recognize this and are willing to do something - anything - about it. I hope this is a place where people can find like-minded folk.
Yes agreed--I think so much of the incrementally changing systems or burning down systems isn't serving us or is making us exhausted. I really am landing on the idea of turning away from toxic systems and building alternative systems of care right now. It's an experiment but feels like a worthy one.
Look up the NDN Collective video “Vote Like a Radical”. We never learned that voting isn’t a message about our values, it’s “picking the opponent we are best equipped to fight”.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=q2CHfqJ3I5w
Yeah. I think we need to try to be better than our leaders now. We need to become the leaders we want to see in the world.
Thank you!!! Your words, as always, are calming and logical and hopeful.
But my truth is that I loathe Trump AND 73 million other “people?”, “monsters?”, who think his brand of racism, sexism and cruelty are good for this country. I am a black woman, astonished and ashamed of my so-called fellow country-people. It’s too tragic, too raw, too unbelievable for me to get to a place of hope. It’s going to take me AT LEAST 4.5 years to get there—-this I know for sure. I’m disappointed and disheartened. I have spelled the U.S.A. “amerikkka” since the 2016 election, and I don’t see that changing soon—perhaps ever. The sadness is overwhelming. It’s always been about keeping amerikkka as white as can be, regardless of what it costs it’s citizens.
Yes it always has been, we are just experiencing more of what the powerful elite founded this country on. You'd think we would have come up with something better by now. But they still control the minds of the masses. Just as much as when they pitted poor whites against newly freed slaves but only with way more money, and twitter. I'm raging with you, for you, even. So you can rest (resist) for a minute.
Yes, thank you. I've been thinking about fear (which can manifest as hate) and love like the story of the turtle and the hare. Fear may be more powerful at first, but if we stick with Love, it wins in the end. ❤️
Beautifully said
Bonnie.
Andrea thank you for this, from my heart. I love the idea of a "what's my job" party with community. I've been reflecting so much on this season as winter approaches, in more ways than one. I think one of our jobs this coming season is to germinate radical dreams of how to weave communities together. To your friends point, “If we can’t imagine it, we can’t create it.” And this is the time to radically dream alternatives as a practice.
I will be quoting from this on a panel on “Hope and Resilience” in the coming week. And it reminded me I have Ruha Benjamin’s “Imagination: A Manifesto” cued up to read as we break out of dominant narratives that may be limiting our ability to conceive of things like community over capitalism. Grateful for these words this morning…and beyond.
“The Care Manifesto” is great too, if you don’t know it.
Thanks for both manifestos. I am also following The Nap Ministries.
Seeing your name at the top of my inbox this morning gave me that flutter one feels when someone dear presents you with a gift. You don’t know what’s inside, but you already love it. I read this over and over. Thank you.
"...and I think to myself what a wonderful world...." I felt a new, bursting to live, shoot of Love and Hope rise up inside me through reading your words. Now it is my duty and honour to water it. Thank you so much Andrea for planting seeds in the community garden of our one beating heart xxx
Thank you Andrea. I'm not from the US but I followed the elections. A few days later, my own country had elections too. And 'what do I do next ?' has been on my mind since. I'm not good at politics. However, I am a psychologist and I've been thinking that healing trauma is what I do best (not that I'm the best at it 😉) Helping people feel safe again, or for the first time, will help the fear to subside, and build curiosity towards those they dont know instead of paranoia. And maybe they would see each other as partners instead of enemies. So, that will be my contribution.
Sharing this wise and far. You are a full bouquet in my garden 💐
How kind, and true!
Thank you for this Andrea. You have no idea how much I lean on your words to remind me of my own feet on the ground.
This is my favorite post ever! 🥰 Thank you for the garden that is your heart. Thank you for watering us with love and reminding us of the beauty inside and among us.
Thank you for voicing a path my heart wants to follow.
My wife and I are having a giant potluck on Jan 19th. I am going to incorporate the idea of "I can't see what I can DO" in it somehow...maybe as a nametag/notetag where others jot observations about the nametag wearer with whom they interact...something like that. I can imagine two hundred people walking around getting kind affirmations from friends and strangers and I LOVE it. Thank you for the words and the inspiration. You and your wife are welcome if you're in Tucson that day (or any other).