Someone shared this clip from PBS with me: The surprising way to fight political exhaustion, in which sociologist Tressie McMillan Cottom talks about "agency" as a key to countering exhaustion from relentless horrible world news and politics.
She's on point. It makes me think... if I'm standing still awhile, it starts to hurt and get heavy, my feet and hips ache, etc. But if I walk or move in some way, pain recedes. (I had a lot of retail jobs long ago.) Passive consumption of news forces us to stand and hold heaviness, which feels even MORE heavy because that's all we're attending to. I liked her term: agentic.
This is why I've joined to volunteer with Action for Happiness, and why I've started making "little art" earnestly, on the regular, and why I'm returning to frequent entries here, and might even write poetry again. Since this post is public, I can't pretend I'll be a secret agent -- but I can be an agent for kindness.
"In our constant search for meaning in this baffling and temporary existence, trapped as we are within our three pounds of neurons, it is sometimes hard to tell what is real. We often invent what isn't there. Or ignore what is".
Some of us will drift apart while others stay together
And some will step in from the rain while others face the weather And some will take their last breath while others breathe new life And though they're standing on our necks, there's still the will to fight
Just 'cause things are different, don't mean anything has changed And I know the world's on fire, but there's beauty in the flame And we don't know how much longer But we know we're gonna come back stronger, oh-oh Just 'cause things are different, don't mean anything, anything has changed
Some of us will lose ourselves while others rediscover (ooh) The lovers and the innocence, a baby to its mother (ooh) And some will grasp it in their hands while others lose control (ooh) Yeah, we gotta leave our fingerprints to let the future know, oh
Just 'cause things are different, don't mean anything has changed And I know the world's on fire, but there's beauty in the flame And we don't know how much longer But we know we're gonna come back stronger, oh-oh Just 'cause things are different, don't mean anything, anything has changed
I'll be the light (eh) If you follow me, I will be everything you need I'll be the leader If you want it, I promise that I will set you free
Just 'cause things are different, don't mean anything has changed And though the world's on fire, there's beauty in the flame And we don't know how much longer But we know we're gonna come back stronger, oh-oh Just 'cause things are different, don't mean anything, anything has changed
I'll be the light (eh) If you follow me, I will be everything you need I'll be the leader If you want it, I promise that I will set you free (changed)
I'll be the light (eh) If you follow me, I will be everything you need I'll be the leader (eh) If you want it, I promise that I will set you free
The art journal practice is strong. Some days I do one page and others result in several. The process draws me into wordless intuition. It's a little mysterious. I always enjoy it and like the results, and sometimes I feel as though a bit of magic unfolded. Today felt like that.
I am not okay. I saw the video of Renee Good being murdered. I am an
empath and a therapist. I had to find the energy and attention to be
present with my clients today, while also carrying the physical, mental,
and emotional load of horror and despair. It's the misogyny. The fact
that a government entity is lying about what happened. The speed with
which a man just decided to snuff out a woman's life by obliterating her
face with bullets and then calling her a "fucking bitch" after. I
appreciate these events are documented on video, but it's also traumatic
to witness.
I am flesh and I am bone Rise up, ting ting, like glitter and gold I've got fire in my soul Rise up, ting ting, like glitter
Yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah Like glitter and gold Yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah Like glitter
Do you walk in the valley of kings? Do you walk in the shadow of men Who sold their lives to a dream? Do you ponder the manner of things In the dark The dark, the dark, the dark
I am flesh and I am bone I'll rise ting ting like glitter and gold I've got fire in my soul Rise up, ting ting, like glitter
Yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah Like glitter and gold Yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah Like glitter
Do you walk in the meadow of spring? Do you talk to the animals? Do you hold their lives from a string? Do you ponder the manner of things In the dark The dark, the dark, the dark
I am flesh and I am bone I'll rise ting ting like glitter and gold I've got fire in my soul Rise up, ting ting, like glitter I am flesh and I am bone I'll rise ting ting like glitter and gold I've got fire in my soul Rise up, ting ting, like glitter
'Cause everybody in the backroom's spinning out Don't remember what you're asking for And everybody in the front room's tripping out You left your bottle at the door Cause everybody in the backroom's spinning out Don't remember what you're asking for And everybody in the front room's tripping out You left your bottle at the door
You would not believe your eyes If ten million fireflies Lit up the world as I fell asleep 'Cause they fill the open air And leave teardrops everywhere You'd think me rude but I would just stand and stare
I'd like to make myself believe That planet Earth turns slowly It's hard to say that I'd rather stay awake when I'm asleep 'Cause everything is never as it seems
'Cause I'd get a thousand hugs From ten thousand lightning bugs As they tried to teach me how to dance A foxtrot above my head A sock hop beneath my bed A disco ball is just hanging by a thread
I'd like to make myself believe That planet Earth turns slowly It's hard to say that I'd rather stay awake when I'm asleep 'Cause everything is never as it seems I fall asleep
Leave my door open just a crack (Please take me away from here) 'Cause I feel like such an insomniac (Please take me away from here) Why do I tire of counting sheep? (Please take me away from here) When I'm far too tired to fall asleep (Please take me, please take me away from here)
To ten million fireflies I'm weird 'cause I hate goodbyes Got misty eyes as they said farewell (we sailing away) But I'll know where several are If my dreams get real bizarre 'Cause I saved a few and I keep them in a jar (we sailing away)
I'd like to make myself believe That planet Earth turns slowly It's hard to say that I'd rather stay awake when I'm asleep 'Cause everything is never as it seems (we sailing away) I'd like to make myself believe (believe) That planet Earth (turn, turns) turns slowly (slowly) It's hard to say that I'd rather stay awake when I'm asleep 'Cause everything is never as it seems (I fall asleep) I'd like to make myself believe Planet Earth turns slowly It's hard to say that I'd rather stay awake when I'm asleep Because my dreams are bursting at the seams
Somewhere over the rainbow Way up high In the land that I heard of once Once in a lullaby
Somewhere over the rainbow Skies are blue And the dreams that you dare to dream Really do come true
Someday I'll wish upon a star And wake up where the clouds are far Behind me Where troubles melt like lemon drops Away above the chimney tops That's where you'll find me
Someday I'll wish upon a star And wake up where the clouds are far Behind me
Where troubles melt like lemon drops Away above the chimney tops That's where you'll find me
Somewhere over the rainbow Skies are blue And the dreams that you dare to dream Really do come true
If happy little blue birds fly Above the rainbow Why, oh why, can't I?
Somewhere across one of my social media feeds a person shared a little hobby that caught my attention. It involves graph paper, one-inch squares of paper, scissors, and glue. I have a lot of extra bits of paper from painting and crafting, so I went to town on making them into squares. The goal of this is the process, not perfection. So the squares need not be perfectly one-inch, nor do they need to be affixed in perfect alignment. I had a lot of fun with these two pages and will definitely do more.
