One Small Thing

A holiday

Today is the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday. I’m off from my paid work, and I find myself feeling very reflective today. And guilty. And sad.

Guilty, because for many I know, today is a day of service. And I chose to stay home. Considering my emotions are very close to the skin right now, I’m glad I did and it’s part of the reason I chose to stay home. Being around a lot of people, especially strangers, would be too much for me right now. So I’m trying to throw some tenderness towards myself with that.

Sad because of the reflecting. A question occurred to me: What if Dr. MLK, Jr. hadn’t been murdered? What if he’d been alive all these days to preach his message of peace and liberation? What if he’d been one of our Presidents along the way? Might we be a bit closer to his dream where black folks and people of color are judged solely by the content of their character? Might we, as a nation, have begun to more fully heal some of the harms of colonization and racial capitalism?

Far from the dream

Because on this day, it feels like we are far from that dream. And it feels like we have been moving away from that dream more drastically in the last 10 years or so. Fascists, which were a clear enemy in the early 1900s, are clearing more space to spread their hate and sow their seeds of fear…

Hope

I recognize I’m in a bit of a negative headspace right now. Shoot, writing is one of the ways that I process that negative energy!! Through that negative cloud, I have hope. There are so many people working towards creating a world that benefits the many, instead of the white, rich few. (To be clear, not only white folks are dragon-hoarding rich, but an extremely large proportion are.) No matter which problems we think about, there are good people doing good work toward change. That’s true of right now, and it’s true looking back. Even if it’s been erased or hidden from us.

We can create a world that feeds, houses, educates, and nurtures us all. The resources are there. Some folks aren’t letting others play with the toys they stole, and that’s a situation we can change.

One Small Thing

There are a lot of big problems converging in the world right now. Or maybe it’s just a few big problems that cause a lot of different types of damage down the road. Either way, it can feel overwhelming. Sometimes I feel strong pressure that I’m supposed to help fix all of *that,* all the while I’m also trying to do my chores, make needed repairs to my house, visit with friends, work my paid job, make art, and on…

A lesson I’m learning is that we don’t need to do all of the things. We need to do *something.* And as far as Dr. King’s dream goes, one big thing we need to learn to do is to see the humanity and light in everyone, even those we don’t know. I’m currently reading Simran Jeet Singh‘s beautiful book, The Light We Give. He does a wonderful job of describing his process and practice of doing this as a Sikh (pronounced similarly to “sick”) man who regularly gets labeled as a terrorist because he wears a turban, and has struggled with healing from the trauma of mass killings in his community. Some days his one thing is to truly connect with one other human being. (Check out Valerie Kaur‘s See No Stranger too.)

What’s your one thing??

Closing Out

So today, 1) I’m extending myself some tenderness and time to explore why I’m feeling … vulnerable and 2) I’ll be donating 20% of the sale of each of these two mixed-media pieces to the Dr. Carter G. Woodson African American Museum in St. Pete, FL. (I’ll donate these funds no matter when I sell them.)

Today I wish you whatever you need to help us more fully manifest Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s dream.