Like many people I know and likely millions whom I don’t know, this has been an exhausting few weeks. Watching a country you’ve cherished – in great part for its ability to grow in terms of policy and law towards a more egalitarian space – go back 75 years in a few weeks is beyond disheartening.
Last night, I called my sister. As we usually do, we talked about our families and work, and then we moved on to world politics. In particular, we talked over the destruction going on around us both in our own country and around the world as a result of our petulant little boy president and his childish, misanthropic, selfish motives and actions. All week long, I’ve felt as though my head would explode if I read even one more piece about yet another part of someone’s life he would gleefully squash. But, like any good bystander, I couldn’t keep my eyes averted. Even as I fact-checked what looked to be stories from The Onion, I found reality was far more bizarre than fantasy.
As I lamented the destruction being done, Carolyn reminded me of what I needed to be reminded. I can’t fix it. I can’t change what’s happening. I can’t lessen the impact of the policies being torn down. FULL STOP
What I can do is:
– take care of myself, physically, mentally, spiritually, emotionally,
– talk to someone, so that when I’m overwhelmed, they can bring me back to reality,
– figure out my own priorities,
– keep my actions small and impactful,
– focus on my family and their health,
– focus on my work and its impact on youth and education
As people, we are seriously at risk of giving up because we are overwhelmed, and that is perhaps the point of the actions of this administration. If we give up, the oligarchs win. Don’t let them win.
What can you focus on to maintain your health while still impacting your community and those things that matter most to you?
Nancy Wiley writes. 