The overnight manager at the Big Box is on vacation for the rest of May, which means the assistant overnight manager (me) gets to cover all those shifts and will be working 10+ hours, six nights a week, until Memorial Day.
On the plus side: overtime will help to pay for our leaking roof.
On the minus side: My firm resolve that I will be writing just as much here as otherwise, because after all this requires a completely different energy, is starting to look less likely. (I’d hoped this would be a food/sleep/hygiene/writing — pick 3 situation, but it’s feeling more like pick 2.)
And but so, to keep the lights on here at the blog, I will probably be resorting to more of the short, here’s-something-I-read-that-I-thought-was-good type posts that more prolific, less verbose bloggers I admire and enjoy rely on more often than I usually do.
Like so, David Dark share’s Lynne McFarland’s advice on “How to thrive when your community is attacked by an authoritarian force”
Stay nonviolent. Nonviolence has the better track record.
Keep your fear small and your love big.
Call actions by their real names, e.g., arrests and detentions without due process are kidnappings.
Support both the individual AND the community: no one gets thrown under the bus.
Give people the grace to grow and change but don’t let their excuses drag you down or slow you down. When they grow and change, make room for their contributions.
Tell the stories. Follow the principles. Do the work.
Find your sweet tribe, the place that challenges your fears and encourages your courage and love.
Name the sources of your strengths. …
Celebrate the glories of your community. Say them out loud. Write songs and poems about them.
Remember that proximity matters. Stay engaged with the people of your community. Don’t go gated.
“Keep your fear small and your love big.” OK, then, and amen.
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