Hello friends,

While on a walking break from the writer’s conference I taught at last weekend, I paused to snap a picture of a wall mural. It was advertising something—toasted English Muffins, I believe—and showed a mountain scene, with trees, lake, and sky, and people entertaining each other with song around a campfire.

But besides the incongruity of such a beautiful scene marketing a breakfast bread, it was the message that stopped me:

“Wake up to what’s possible.”

Well. That’s where we are each day, isn’t it? And especially now.

Why especially now? Because there are people in positions of power who wish to grind us down and quash our spirits. They don’t want us to imagine what is possible. They want us to shrink into ourselves in fear and defeat.

I don’t know about you, but I’m not going to do that. I’ve been fighting this battle since around age thirteen, and these days? As a gender nonconforming queer person, I refuse to be erased. And I refuse to let these people steal my joy, my vision, and my hope for a kinder future.

So, every day, I write. Every day, I take a walk and notice beautiful things. Every day, I find a way to help someone.

Every day, I wake up to what is possible, which includes both good and bad, and I choose to take action for the good and against the bad.

How about you? How are you awakening to what is possible? What are you creating? What strategies are helping you through?

Best wishes - Thorn

I usually showcase my own projects down here, but today I want to highlight the work of the Border Butterflies Project. They work on behalf of trans immigrants.