I’ve finally caught my breath …

I’ve caught my breath a bit since the election.

For quite a while, I have felt unusually quiet. I’ve wanted to listen and learn more than speak and teach … to question and revise some of my pre-election assumptions, to rethink a lot of things in light of what happened … and is happening since the inauguration.

I’m getting a clearer sense of what is mine to do … of how I can best endure and resist and persist in the never-ending work of overcoming evil with good.

One thing that is clearly not mine to do … and that’s being glued to cable tv and social media to maintain a constant state of outrage. That is not good for my soul, and I don’t think it’s good for my work either. I’ll tell you more about what I’m sensing — for myself, primarily, but perhaps for many of us — in a future post.

I have developed a simple policy regarding news intake: I turn off any show that normalizes Donald Trump and his main accomplices. I have no desire to hear him lie and spout ignorant foolishness again and again.

The truth is, he has become so boring and predictable in his behavior that it feels like a sickening rerun of a show that was terrible the first time around. I just don’t want to give him any free real estate in my brain or subject myself (any more than is necessary) to his authoritarian bullying and arrogant bloviation.

Not only that: it’s a well-known authoritarian and fascist strategy to “flood the zone” with BS … It’s a predictable strategy for crooked authoritarians to try to distract us from big crimes with the shiny objects of constant scandals, “weapons of mass distraction” they’re often called  … It’s a predictable strategy to try to exhaust us all with so many daily outrages that we’re too tired to act when the strategic moments come our way. I don’t want to fall prey to any of those strategies.

But I do want to stay informed. Very well informed, in fact.

So here are the people/places I’m paying attention to on a daily or weekly basis to keep me informed.

I turn to these sources to get important news that is concerned with reality rather than propaganda, so we can be prepared to show up when needed, in the ways we’re needed.

Some of these resources provide me with grounding and wisdom and centering, which I need in these times when so much harm is being done so fast.

Some of them help me learn to communicate more graciously, clearly, and boldly with the 49.97 percent of voters who freely and fairly elected Trump. Right now, most of them are ecstatic and thrilled with his every move. But I believe the time is coming when more and more of them become disillusioned. They’ll begin to see through the deception that they have been sold. I hope many of us can help many of them reorient themselves before the next elections.

You might find these resources helpful too, so in that spirit I share them. These aren’t all the excellent resources — not by a long shot. But they’re ones that have been helping me in recent weeks. I should add – try to financiallyt support as many of your trusted resources as you can.

Spiritual Resources

Diana Butler Bass, The Cottage – https://dianabutlerbass.substack.com/

Process This, Homebrewed Christianity Podcast, and anything from Tripp Fuller – https://processthis.substack.com/

Jacqui Lewis – the person I would nominate for America’s Pastor, except that her influence should be international, not just national: https://jacquilewis.substack.com/account/

Dante Stewart – one of the very brightest young leaders out there: https://substack.com/@dantecstewart/

I enjoy Daily Meditations delivered to my inbox from The Center for Action and Contemplation and from Matthew Fox: https://cac.org/category/daily-meditations/ and https://dailymeditationswithmatthewfox.org/

Jim Finley and Kirsten Oates help me stay rooted in the Turning to the Mystics Podcast: https://cac.org/podcast/turning-to-the-mystics/.

 

Political Resources

Judd Legum (Popular Information Substack) – https://popular.info/

Anand Giridharadas, The Ink on Substack) – https://the.ink/

Brian Kaylor, A Public Witness on Substack – https://the.ink/

Peter Beinart – on current events, especially Israel/Gaza/Palestine – https://peterbeinart.substack.com/

Jennifer Rubin and Norman Eisen – The Contrarian on Substack – https://peterbeinart.substack.com/

Gaslit Nation will light you up. Andrea Chalupa’s podcast is on fire with righteous fury https://www.gaslitnationpod.com/about-us

Heather Cox Richardson strikes me as an actual stable genius, every single post: https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/

Sojourners offers this excellent truth and action roundup for the first 100 days of the current regime: https://act.sojo.net/page/email?mid=5835a9d9b0bf4ab291d3a80292a5dc73

Ecological Resources

Semafor – the latest news on climate action – https://www.semafor.com/

Britt Wray is wise and especially focused on the intersection of climate and mental health – https://gendread.substack.com/

Heated brings together excellent writers on climate, overshoot, and related realities: https://heated.world/

Outrage and Optimism – the title says it all. Solid, interesting, international in scope – https://www.outrageandoptimism.org/

 

Uncategorizable but Important resources for me

Cassidy Steele Dale is a futurist with zest. He helps me have foresight – https://cassidysteeledale.substack.com/

Padraig OTuama’s Poetry Unbound substack and podcast helps me politically, ecologically, spiritually, all wrapped together. https://poetryunbound.substack.com/

Speaking of poetry, I always appreciate the gifts of poetry (and prose) from Maria Popova. I highly recommend her newsletters – Sunday and midweek: https://www.themarginalian.org/about/

Finally, I’ve been immersing myself with all of Jacob Collier’s music. I literally have been dreaming about his songs. Here’s one of my favorites to get you started if you’re interested: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IQvzX0Z3HE4

 

You may wonder why I left some of your favorite resources out. They may actually be on my longer list, but this is the shortest list I could bear to share. I hope you’ll share with others what’s helping you … and if I happen to be one of those people who is helping you resist and persist in the way of love, peace, and joy, please know I’m grateful. We’re in this together.

There are so many people doing such good work out there … and if we put all our good work together, encouraging one another and being merciful rather than critical, if we each make our little contributions with a great big heart of love and sincerity … if we keep sowing seeds of kindness and justice and humility left and right … and if we don’t grow weary in doing good, we shall reap a harvest, I do believe, deep in my heart … we shall overcome.

It won’t be easy. It won’t happen fast. There will be many difficult days … many “dangers, toils, and snares.” And the struggle is never over. But something beautiful is trying to be born, even in the midst of so much ugliness.