So What's Next?
Photo by Jon Tyson on Unsplash
I am writing this Fight Back Friday series for those of us who are worried about how a second Trump presidency will affect our lives and the future of the country. This series is about taking action, in both our personal and civic lives, as we face the next four years.
It's been a month since my last post, and in retrospect I wish I had written about what was going on instead of ghosting my readers.
What happened is that we said goodbye to our dog, Nera, a sweet, playful, sensitive pitbull who was in my life for a decade. You know how some pets are so aligned with you that they are your best friend and an integral part of your daily life? Well, that was Nera for me. And while I am a very realistic person and knew I would lose her one day, the loss hit hard, and the first two weeks were hellish. I had to make space for the grief. But I should have just let you know. I’m sorry I didn’t.
I am grateful to have felt such a close connection with her. That kind of connection is a gift. Here’s a picture of Nera.
On one hand the loss of a cherished pet seems small, but it’s not. Our connections - our relationships - are a primary part of this tender, human experience. I want to write more about why our interconnection with each other (and with all of the living world) is particularly important right now - but this week my big, looming question is SO WHAT’S NEXT?
I know we share the experience of looking/not looking at the news each day, no longer surprised by the horrifying reality we are now facing. On a good day it can seem comical. On a bad day it can feel debilitating.
I think the worst part is that we don’t know what is next. That’s the reason I always hated haunted houses and horror movies. I found no thrill in being negatively surprised.
What we do know is that our grocery bills remain high. The overall food at home index rose 1.9% over the last 12 months. The stock market has been a downward falling roller coaster, which is why I decided to move to a more conservative investment portfolio. I am not many years away from needing my retirement funds, and losing tens of thousands of dollars is not the horror show I want to watch.
Those are things that don’t feel good in my everyday life, but what feels worse (if I can sum it all up in one sentence) is the disregard of our Constitution and the vilification of human empathy.
What can I do? What can we do?
Warren Buffett (yes, I know he is a billionaire and yes…yes…) suggests we “heed these lines” from Rudyard Kipling’s classic poem “If,” circa 1895.
“If you can keep your head when all about you are losing theirs ... If you can wait and not be tired by waiting ... If you can think — and not make thoughts your aim ... If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you ... Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it.”
And to make that beautiful idea concrete, here are a few things you can do:
Stick to your values in all that you do.
Resist everything you know is wrong.
Practice kindness and compassion.
As much as possible, surround yourself with strong, kind people - in your private, public and social media lives.
You can always - weekly - make a few calls through 5calls. It remains an easy, direct and effective thing you can do in less than 30 minutes.
7,227,909 calls to Senators and Congress-people have been made through 5calls so far. That is power in numbers.
If you haven’t done so, can you commit to making just one call this week? If not, can you at least sign up for their email newsletter? You can do both here.
And when you just need a break, here are are some of my favorite social media boosts:
Cooking for Levi: A dad teaches his very young son how to cook beautiful food; their relationship is a reminder that there is simple joy happening in the world everyday. In the latest post Levi says he can fight the bad guys by spinning really fast and punching while spinning. So can you.
Daniel_middel hula hoops in fun outfits to great tunes. Pure authentic joy. A reminder to not give a sh*t what other people think.
Shifferdiane provides all the nurturing mom energy anyone could ever need.
Watch Jackie and Shadow, an eagle pair in Big Bear Lake, CA, raise their two newly hatched chicks in their impressive nest with a gorgeous lake view. A reminder that the natural world goes on, despite the crazy things humans do.
Tandembasemoab posts videos of people base jumping from a Moab cliff. The reward is always pure, unadulterated joy. If you need to get over your fear, watch a few of these videos first. If they can do scary things, so can you.
Aclu_nationwide posts videos about the near constant ways they are fighting the good fight. You can rely on them.