I’m sick of grieving. I’m sick of being filled with rage. I’m sick of picking apart the nuances of why good hearted people would vote for someone with such a disgustingly vile track record. There’s a helluva lot I could say about it all, but for what? I don’t hold any notion that my opinion (or, some cold hard facts) can change anyone’s mind. And it’s too late now anyway. This is our reality. It is what it is.
“To be hopeful in bad times is based on the fact that human history is not only of cruelty, but also of compassion, sacrifice, courage, kindness. If we only see the worst, it destroys our capacity to do something. If we remember those times and places where people have behaved magnificently, this gives us the energy to act. And if we do act, in however small a way, we don’t have to wait for some grand Utopian future. The future is an infinite succession of the presents, and to live now as we think human beings should live, in defiance of all that is bad around us, is itself a marvelous victory.” - Howard Zinn
So I write this to remind myself to pivot. Enough rumination and doom scrolling. This does nothing. Remaining (or starting to be) hopeful is the only way towards a positive trajectory. Action is the only practical next step.
Let’s not let the billionaires that bought this election continue to win. Sure, we are puny little singular humans in the deep end of a big pool of consumption and greed. But that doesn’t mean we can’t swim to the shallow end with our friends! (I’m laughing out loud at this ridiculous metaphor but refuse to rework it because I need some giggles and also, who the H-E-double-hockey-sticks cares?) Okay, picture it! Us, adorable little guppies, near drowning in the deep end of a dirty ol’ corrupt cesspool, doing things the same as always, cogs in a bullshit capitalist machine.
But then, the sun casts a glimmer of light down to the shallow end of the pool - we can see the bottom - clean, pretty, turquoise tiles. It seems more peaceful, spacious, and pleasant. It will be hard to muster the energy to swim all the way over there, and the filter current will keep effortlessly pulling us back into the mucky cesspool, but we can do it.
I imagine the shallow part of the pool is our collective optimistic dissent. Not just saying no, this is not what we stand for, but taking action and voting with our hours and our dollars. (HOURS AND DOLLARS, BABY! Hours. And. Doll. Hairs.) Aiming to end our ties with big corporations and shitty media outlets and trash fast fashion and the industrial agriculture industries. Instead, working towards a positive future with kindness, compassion, curiosity, and love. This constant paddle takes a lot more effort than complaining and crying in the filth.
Yes, money talks! A crisp $20 bill said to me "whales live in a matriarchal society" just the other day. But besides how we spend our cash, how we spend our time and where we direct our attention is our biggest currency. Let’s face it, a lot of us who are this outraged at Trump being elected are also privileged enough to have a.) a higher education, and b.) the security and means to take our money and put it in better, more ethical places. Maybe we can also afford the time to do more for our local communities and learn to become better people.
I don’t know. I’m just a girl. And I’m sick of being angry at reality and crippled by overwhelm. We gotta get off this moral ground high horse situation, regardless of the validity of our standards OR how thrilling it might be to be on a horse. As a vegan I especially struggle with this.. Like yeah I’d LOVE to just chill on a high horse forever but would the horse actually be cool with it? Do my ethical standards matter to the horse? Or should everyone just get off their high horses and respect each other and be chill?? Probably the latter. Unless of course someone is out there blatantly spewing nonsense and hatred, in that case I hope they get violently bucked off the horse and land in a weirddd position.
Metaphor shmetaphor, I'm just out here spewing words.
Anyway, let’s DO something. Let’s be kind - to ourselves, to others, to animals, to all of nature. Let’s try not to let this shitstain on America’s already very-shitstained history bog us down. Let’s take small positive actions and hope our lovey dovey energy reverberates out into the world and is taken on by someone else. Smile at the stranger you walk past on the street. Pick up a piece of trash you see on the ground. Help someone out if they need it. Give a horse a carrot or something.
A quote I re-read recently fits the bill here:
“Action without thinking is idiocy, but thinking without action is anxiety.”
So, let’s not be idiots! Let’s stay hopeful and be fools instead. Let’s be silly and have fun and smile and enjoy life, despite the nasty words and ~awful voibes~ we are being inundated with lately. Let’s re-engage and light a fire under our gorgeous plump asses. Let’s talk together about how we make this planet a better place! I'm here for it all, paddling along, aiming for the turquoise tiles. Alright guppies, see ya in the shallow end.
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