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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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Hello friends, It is early January. Another Gregorian calendar year. Outside my window, the sun shines after rain. Wisps of grey clouds hover low, kissing utility wires. It’s gorgeous outside, and feels still. The air is cold and soft with moisture. Crows call to one another, cars drive by. Tea steams its fragrance at my side. Today is another day to ponder, work, and plan. Today is another day to choose. What will you choose, repeatedly, this year? What do you plan? What might you build?...
Hello friends, Believe it or not—and despite the first paragraph—below are more thoughts about hope… As one Gregorian calendar year draws to a close, many of us are gazing into a highly volatile, uncertain future. The US economy seems to teeter on a precipice. With scant oversight and terrified or deported workers, our food supply is both compromised and costly. Environmental regulations are gutted. Families are rent apart. Too many people live in fear of what the next day will offer. This...
Hello friends, “Light is returning, even though this is the darkest hour. No one can hold back the dawn…” – Charlie Murphy & Jami Sieber It’s Solstice weekend as I write this. It is cold outside. There’s flooding not far from here. There are families afraid to go to work or school. There are people hoarding power and wealth who care only for themselves. There are mass shootings. War. There are people fueled by cruelty, hatred, and fear. These are dark times, indeed. These are also times of...