I have faith in you and me
My source of hope right now.
Radical Souls,
I’ve felt a little lost this week. I know I’m not alone in this. Each day, the news gets more and more discouraging.
Friends, I’ve wanted to be the bearer of hope to all of you who have signed up for this newsletter, but I’ve been at a loss for what my message of hope should be. It’s not that I’ve lost hope, but rather, it has no specific substance right now. I don’t believe that things will get better in the country anytime soon. And although I don’t believe that evil will ultimately triumph, I’m not convinced love will either. Which is to say, I’m not sure there’s a way out of this endless cycle of evolution and regression in human morality. At least not in this realm.
Maria Popova posted a quote from John Steinbeck this week that resonated. In a letter he wrote to a friend during WWII, Steinbeck said, “All the goodness and the heroisms will rise up again, then be cut down again and rise up. It isn’t that the evil thing wins — it never will — but that it doesn’t die.”
Right now for me, hope looks like a belief that, even if evil never dies, neither does love. Love never gives up.
As a spiritual person, I wish I had a specific message of faith to share, as well. That there are forces at work out there that will protect us, that we are not alone. And I do believe this. But I don’t believe that telling any of you that there are forces out there that will protect you is the right thing to do, because we all know that horrible things happen to good people, especially those of us who are marginalized. So ultimately what this protection looks like is beyond me. This is something you must figure out for yourself.
But I do deeply believe in one thing that brings me a great deal of comfort: each other. We are the embodiment of good in the world. We are the love that does not die. And that is enough for me right now.
We are living in an incredible time of organized evil, and it is forcing many of us to reckon with what we value and who we value. I think over the next couple of years we’ll see local communities strengthen. We’ll witness beautiful acts of bravery and compassion. We’ll find new allies in unexpected places. And this is giving me hope.
If you are feeling helpless or guilty right now: like you don’t know where to start or you are not doing enough, take a breath. This is just the beginning. There is plenty of time to show up for each other in the months and years ahead. You will hear many activists say this: prepare for a marathon, not a sprint. It’s okay to rest and pause and consider your options. But I beg of you, don’t allow fear or overwhelm or callousness or anything else turn you into a bystander. Be love.
Right now I feel called to deeper contemplation and rest. I’m listening to my intuition and my body. I’m respecting the seasonality of things: even the trees and plants are resting.
I’m also appealing to my ancestors and Spirit for guidance, and I get the sense they are telling me to wait. To put in my time at the altar, walking in nature, reading, meditating. I’m walking in the woods today with a friend and heading to a Buddhist center tomorrow because I know it’s best to not do this work in complete isolation. I’m hopeful that good will come of this for me, and that in return I can be a source of hope and insight for all of you.
Respond to this post with what you need right now. I’m here to listen.
My guidance this week has also been to rest. I'm using the time to deepen my connection to the Unseen Realms so that I have a clearer understanding of what is my work to do going forward. In the meantime, I'm doing what I can to spread kindness, joy and peace in my everyday encounters. Grateful to be in community with you, Jera.
I needed this read, so thank you. I also needed the misread moment I had where I saw this:
"We’ll find new allies in unexpected places."
and read "allies" as "aliens." That gave me unexpected hope. I don't even know why. So I'm going to think about it and hold onto it as well.
Letting go of the guilt. I heard today "You didn't cause it, you can't control it, and you can't cure it." I think that's true about the disease of what's happening right now. So I'll keep doing my best, and that's enough.