We might feel a little better today.

The human mind & heart have wonderful powers of coping, of normalizing.

But we’re still in the chapter in a real-life novel right before the Dystopia takes hold, & begins to grow in the power to hurt.

Remember the fresh hurt of yesterday. Take action to make sure you & others are preparing, safe as can be, in a position to both help others & do so safely.

It’s the frogs who stay in the heating water who get cooked. Do not normalize what’s beginning.

It’s privilege to indulge in cynicism. Many of our sisters & brothers, others, don’t enjoy that luxury.

If everyone affected by Roe v. Wade, climate crisis, gun culture gone mad…actually had turned out to vote & gave The Dems the votes then we could have had all of the above fixed. Codified. We could address climate & get back our stability, health, joy.

And yet, blaming others is easy, but not productive. Let’s take responsibility. Give yourself the power. Together, we have it. For now. Act, with active love, before it’s too late.

We gathered. Shared. Spent time with one another, in community:

We are not okay.

Today, stillness. It snowed here, beautiful white peace on yellow gold leaves. Even as our world crumbled, and we feel the fear, the very real fear of what is coming for us, particularly those of us who are vulnerable, who speak up, who hope to make use of health care.

Tomorrow, we lift ourselves up and go back to work, and work includes play, and love, and laughter. But work also includes loss, and mud, and tired muscles, and fear of prosecution for the simple act of using our voice.

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We have given up our republic democratically. Trump will not be surrounded by Republicans who care about country first. He will be surrounded by half-crazed sycophants who will enable, not guardrail his worst impulses.

We are not safe.

This country we love has given itself over to their idea of a strong leader. A leader who will again coast on the strong economy he has been given, and again fire scientists, and fail to confront price-gouging. He’ll spend billions of our dollars on creating a police state, on perverting our very real freedom in the interest of his ego, lies, and greed.

I have no comforting words or solutions. The only comfort is community, and taking care of our sanity and one another. We are powerful enough to take care of ourselves and serve others. We can not ignore or hide to self-regulate. But today, we seek refuge in that falling snow, those golden leaves, knowing that we have consenting to breaking our democracy, and breaking our planet for all future generations.