soothing summer 2022 overwhelm with love and action
I had drafted an email shortly after Roe v Wade was overturned with empathetic words of grief and rage, reminders and suggestions for finding joy and taking action. I finally created a page of referrals on my website in my absence, and felt pressed to tell you all sooner rather than later so you could find care. I changed my phone number and stressed that people were texting me for a massage and worried I was unprofessionally ghosting people in not replying.
I took the time I usually take toiling over my words and prepared to plug in the content into my newsletter platform. Then said newsletter platform locked me out because I hadn’t updated my phone number in my account! The tasks to regain access felt insurmountable. Even when I feel like I’m rested and resourced, I put off a simple task long enough to realize I can still experience burnout, just by existing in our abrasive and crumbling world. I hope you are able to offer yourselves the same compassion when the simplest of work days or seemingly easy tasks just feel impossible. That said, I'm sorry if it felt like I disappeared on you! That wasn't on purpose and while I was out of town and unavailable for a bit, I'm still here and back and booking massages.
Obviously, I’ll still offer my empathies and grief and rage at the overturning of Roe v Wade and all that means for the bodily autonomy of queer and trans people. With a not so short list of civil rights on the chopping block and grief from the losses due to climate chaos, there's a lot of collective heartbreak, should we have the bravery and vulnerability to feel it. While the so-called United States is being asked to reckon with the violent supremacies the country was founded upon, tensions rise while many grapple with how to respond. Perhaps with how we’ve been taught, defending the status quo, or with being ready to take the risks involved in building a better world. It's a painful time, whether you know where you stand in it all or not. Tarot readers may dub this a tower card moment for the U.S. and astrologers point toward the U.S.'s Pluto return this year to explain some of our current turmoil. I love looking toward the stars, not to escape current realities, but to better understand them.
I write this out because maybe you've been feeling burned out and don't know why, so in case nobody has said this to you, there's a lot of reason to feel tired right now! And maybe even if your day to day seems unchanged, we're living in pretty overwhelming times and as always, Im wishing a lot of care among chaos.
Here's some snippets of ways to soothe the brains and take some action, should you feel so called.
Re: reproductive justice and grief: if confusion and a sense of ‘how did we get here’ has left you feeling frozen, listen to the podcast Banned. A client working on this show suggested it and it is an incredible work of journalism. It helped me connect the historical dots of reproductive justice and where the the ‘pro-choice’ movement went wrong.
Donating to any and all of the abortion funds in trigger law states will continue to support people most needing it. You can find them all on the National Network for Abortion Funds.
Read this piece by friend and colleague Tracey Anne Duncan about why our love and rage matters.
Upon opening an email from the Embodiment Institute this morning, I learned about the Occidental Arts and Ecology Project working to restore and build cultural and biological diversity in my home county. They are hosting an event next year, Soul Camp, for 25 Black/Indigenous LGBTQ women to attend a 5 year land based healing retreat. Donate to their GoFundMe HERE!
I’m finding joy in watching Our Flag Means Death repeatedly (its on HBO and there's a great article about the show here), proselytizing about it, and diving into online fandom like never before. And of course making pottery, and walking my sweet puppy. How about you? I'd love to hear!
