We Can Help
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Hello friends, This week, fires rage in the Los Angeles basin while other parts of the US are freezing. War continues elsewhere across the globe. It’s easy to give up, wondering what in the world we can do. When the world feels overwhelming, any of our efforts can seem like a drop in a bottomless bucket. But as organizer and writer Mariame Kaba has said, “Let this radicalize you rather than lead you to despair.” A bucket, no matter how large, is still filled one drop at a time. And then a bucket brigade can be organized. Help begins with that single drop of water. Another way of thinking about it is that we can’t save everyone, but we can help at least a few. Pick one to three things you can offer that might feel helpful to the world right now. Then do those things. Sure, we’re going up against greedy oil companies and billionaires and corrupt politicians and all the rest. But that does not mean we are without power. Collectively, we are a force to be reckoned with. All we have to do—today—is choose to claim the power we have. If you are a person in need of help right now, I hope you are getting some assistance. As for the rest of us? Let’s keep finding ways to choose, and ways to help. When things seem bleak and it is hard to go on, the offer of a single cup of water just might change the course of someone’s life. I’m offering a few resource and donation options for Southern California below. Best wishes - Thorn Mutual Aid Los Angeles Network made a spreadsheet of Resources, Volunteering Opportunities, etc World Central Kitchen is feeding people in Los Angeles (and around the globe). Direct Relief Los Angeles is providing medical equipment, respirators etc
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T. Thorn Coyle
Hello friends, I took the train yesterday, from northern Oregon to the middle of Washington State, heading for a big reader conference called Lore and Luster, where I'll be selling books and meeting readers for two days. We crossed the Columbia River, and beheld the snow capped beauty of Mount Hood. We passed small old towns and countryside, brick buildings, and stands of trees. Four astronauts just made a broad circuit around the moon, sending home photos of astonishing beauty, and pictures...
Hello friends, Whenever times feel overwhelming, and I’m not sure what to do about it, I return to the basics: prioritizing creativity, going for walks, and local mutual aid. Why? The world always needs more creativity, the healthier I am the better able I am to help, and mutual aid or community service offer tangible, immediate help. The other thing I think about is the importance of building networks, which is a simple thing we all do, every day, whether we realize it or not. Some of us...
Hello friends, When was the last time you paused because something was so beautiful, you needed a moment? When was the last time you were emotionally moved by nature, a painting, a song, a film, a dance? And how often do you make space to welcome beauty in your life? “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder,” wrote Margaret Wolfe Hungerford. She was speaking of subjectivity. That each of us finds different things—objects, people, places—beautiful. But there’s more to it than simple taste or...