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, While out running errands the other day, I paused to snap a photo of a sticker on a concrete barrier. The sticker read, in bold print, Realize You’re Alive. It seems like a simple injunction, doesn’t it? Too obvious to say out loud. Of course we realize we’re alive! We’re breathing, aren’t we? We’re thinking. Moving through the world… But do we actually pause long enough to feel this? This thing called us, on this planet, rotating in space, living. How often are we sleepwalking...
Hello friends, Since the solstice, I've been starting every morning by lighting candles and stating my intentions. Then I meditate and make a cup of tea. I'm really enjoying this pattern, and am using it to carry me through to the next calendar year. As a matter of fact, I just ordered a Moleskin daily diary as a gift to myself. I plan to write three daily intentions down each morning, plus my writing plans and business tasks for the day as a way to focus both my attention and my intention. I...
Hello friends, Last night, I lit candles in the darkness. This morning, long before sunrise, I did the same. Out loud, I spoke these words, “May we forever be light for each other.” I repeated that phrase three times. A prayer. An incantation. A spell. A call for hope. Today is the Solstice. For me, it is winter. For those in the southern hemisphere, summer. The ancients thought that on solstice, the sun stood still in the sky before changing direction. That is literally what solstice means....