"In a time of destruction, create something"

I don’t know what you need to hear right now. I don’t know what I need to hear right now. I’m still grieving the results of this election, feeling hollow and exhausted and all over the place mentally and worried about the people most vulnerable among us. I don’t have language to process the swirling anxieties and fears. I do have a meditation, some music, and a few links for you.

One thing that helped me ground myself a bit yesterday was deleting my social media apps and putting my phone physically away to fully watch Lulu’s new dance routine and do another Mad Libs with Kai. To focus on daily tasks that needed doing. To look for a minute at the sky.

I’ve never found this much comfort in simply moving the clothes from the washer to the dryer, the heat washing over my face when I open the washer door, wet clothes draped over my hands, picking up socks that have fallen onto the floor and throwing them in the dryer, too. Something real I can do for people that I love.

I have found solace in these words by Maxine Hong Kingston:

“In a time of destruction, create something: a poem, a parade, a community, a school, a vow, a moral principle; one peaceful moment.”

That’s what I’m going to focus on today. And, I can’t create anything if I’m not breathing and seeing what’s in front of me.

In the deluge of content delivering analyses and reports on the election and continuing violence in Palestine, Ukraine, Sudan, and the wildfires here in Southern CA, I hope this brings you solace or simply a feeling of connection to something good and true, even if just for a few minutes.

Connection is a powerful antidote to the hateful rhetoric and policies of our President-elect and his administration, which seek to divide us from an ethic of care for our neighbors, the natural world, and our own humanity.

So today, I’m going to take five minutes to connect with my own breath with this short meditation from Sister True Dedication. Then, make my tea and do the teaching and writing and parenting work given to me to do.

This weekend, we’re going camping on Catalina Island, a trip we planned long ago, and I’m grateful for the fact that I’ll be forced to turn my phone actually off for a few days and connect with my family and nature. But I know that retreating from the world is not the answer or a real path forward.

I’d love to know: what is helping you to care for yourself right now and your loved ones?

A few more things for you:

• If you want some smart, thoughtful pieces to read to combat the hot takes, Anne Helen Petersen gathered a bunch that have helped me over at Culture Study.

• For a music cure, here’s a super eclectic mix of songs from my current fall playlist.

• I also loved this Tuhin Das poem published today at Split this Rock: “She wants a world everyone can live in. / Come, let’s all go stand next to her.”

---

Clicking the heart to “like” this post is a great and free way to support this newsletter. If you read these posts and value this work, please consider a paid subscription at any level to help me keep it going. 🩵🩵

Be Where You Are is a newsletter about how to use writing and mindfulness to stop and live more fully where you are. If you have ideas to share for future newsletters, you can reply to this email or email me at emilymohnslate@gmail.com. You can also find me on Instagram or Facebook or find more info at my website. Thank you for reading!⚡⚡