Chaos or Community?

Stubbornly Optimistic Resources for Moving Forward

"If you're invested in security and certainty, you are on the wrong planet.”

- Pema Chodron

Monday, 11/11, was the first anniversary of the passing of a Prickly Mountian Man, a.k.a. Gramp, my dad. It was also the birthday of my recently passed brother and the birthday of my brother’s kid’s grandmother on his wife’s side. The day started well enough with a delicious dark roast coffee, warm egg and cheese, and everything bagel at a coffee shop in Park City. A glorious sunrise kick-started my drive back to the Tetons after a joyful reunion weekend immersed in the desert and old (literally) girlfriends from Colorado. But then, against my better judgment, I allowed myself to listen to NPR, and within a half hour, I was in tears and wept most of the day.

Along with family memories, election, and climate anxiety, this week brings a significant life change as I close on a little house in Victor, say goodbye to the home I lived in with my dad, and embark on a significant downsize. With the coming of winter, I’ve had some gloomy, heavy days. 

I won’t belabor my grief; I know you all feel it, and I recognize and honor that many are paralyzed by it. While part of me wants to put my head in the sand and completely disconnect, oddly, I’m becoming super-activated rather than discouraged. 

Coaching myself to “practice what you preach,” I find myself repeating:

• Embrace the chaos, uncertainty, and change;

• Pause to reflect on, reconnect with, rethink, and reimagine your mission.” 

• Refuse to live in fear;

• Compassion, not contempt;

• When a flame is lit, move toward it …

If we want to make real, radical, lasting change, what is the one thing we can do today, tomorrow, or next week? If we want to disrupt interrupt, what can we do that’s practical and repeatable? What can we do to work with the energy of this moment?

Do we have the CONFIDENCE to set a new vision, the COURAGE to believe something different, and the VULNERABILITY to say it out loud?  Will we brush ourselves off and EMERGE? With DIGNITY? Because of Dignity?

Transformation only comes when we work at the roots, and at the risk of sounding like a broken record, the root is changing ourselves. Radical individualism has run its course. To solve the most pressing issues—social and environmental—everything points to rebuilding our communities. How can we stay curious and genuinely understand what our communities want? What’s the best thing we can do to move forward? Bring our neighbors muffins?

Trying to dampen my grief, I’ve found inspiration in the words and actions of so many others … Here are some more STUBBORNLY OPTIMISTIC resources to help us put one foot in front of the other, stay curious, reconnect, and heal. 

I hope you find them helpful.

Be Nice. Have Fun. Peace ~

It is a magnificent thing to be alive in a moment that matters so much. Let’s proceed with broken-open hearts, seeking truth, summoning courage, and focused on solutions.”

~ Ayana Elizabeth Johnson, author of All We Can Save: Truth, Courage, and Solutions for the Climate Crisis and What if We Get It Right? Visions of Climate Futures

Tangle Newsletter: As featured on This American Life: A Small Thing That Gives Me a Tiny Shred of Hope  as the catalyst to save a divided marriage, this newsletter researches and presents the facts on both sides: “Every day, we tackle one big debate in American politics, then summarize the best arguments we can find from the right, left, and center on that debate.”

Braver Angels: The nation’s largest cross-partisan, volunteer-led movement dedicated to “bringing together “We the People” to find a hopeful alternative to toxic politics. The American Hope campaign is equipping Americans across the political spectrum to work together and demand the same of politicians from both parties.”

No Labels: A nationwide movement of “commonsense Americans from both parties and no party who reject extremism and believe America only works when we work together.”

Red Wine and Blue: Initially formed to combat book banning, this nationwide women’s organization provides everything women need to organize successfully in their communities. This online event was particularly beneficial for me last week:

Finally, here are some nice words from the Title 9 catalog… reminding us (all you good men, too!) to put on our oxygen masks first!