November | 2020 | Open Space Practice, (AKA: A Thousand Shades of Gray)

May our sigh of relief
build on itself
until it is a tornado
tearing through
every structure of hate
in this country.

1. 8 Natural Ways to Ease Anxiety. In related news, Advice For Dealing With Uncertainty — From People Who’ve Been There, and There’s a word for your overwhelming anxiety, and it’s “zozobra”, and 16 Ways to Calm the Heck Down When You’re a Highly Sensitive Overthinker, and 10% Happier Podcast: Dealing with Uncertainty, Anxiety, and Anger | Special Post-Election Edition | Lama Rod Owens, and Body Kindness Podcast 2020 Burnout: Saving Our Mental Health for the Greater Good, and Need Peace? 10 Ways to Cultivate Quiet in the Chaos, and 51 Ways to Destress, Calm Down, and Feel Less Lonely Right Now.

2. I Am Shattered but Ready to Fight on The New York Times by Roxane Gay. “The support for President Trump is a disgrace, but the future is not hopeless.”

3. Thoughts On An Election on Terrible Minds by Chuck Wendig. An earlier post from Chuck, I Don’t Know What’s Going On And You Don’t Know Either.

4. The Trump legal team’s failed Four Seasons press conference, explained. “The bizarre venue overshadowed Rudy Giuliani’s conspiracy-theory-laden election rant, providing a poetic stage for the end of Trump’s presidency.”

5. Social Change Ecosystem Map from Solidarity Is. “In our lives and as part of movements and organizations, many of us play different roles in pursuit of equity, shared liberation, inclusion, and justice. And yet, we often get lost and confused, or we are newcomers to ongoing social change efforts and don’t know where to start, or we are catalyzed into action in the midst of a crisis in our community. This is a framework that can help individuals, networks, and organizations align and get in right relationship with social change values, individual roles, and the broader ecosystem.”

6. Tanka Fund “is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation located in Kyle, South Dakota. Tanka Fund’s goal is to convert one million acres of virgin prairie to regenerative agriculture built around a buffalo-based economy. Join us in restoring health and prosperity to Native communities by donating today to reach this goal!”

7. Good stuff on Rita’s Notebook: Heartsick and Oh happy day.

8. Good stuff on Lion’s Roar: How Not to Freak Out, and Resilience: Self-Care for Tough Times, and How to Have the World — and the Life — We Want, and Citizenship as Spiritual Practice.

9. The spaces in-between from Seth Godin.

10. The 2020 election has terrorized America. But here’s our silver lining.

11. The sum of small things.

1. Morning walks. With the time change, we’ll have a few weeks of light in the early early morning again. The day it would have been muddy, the ground was still frozen, and later in the week when it was warmer things had dried up, so we got to go by the river and around the ponds. I was telling someone again this week that it’s not a punishment to walk so early; I actually love it. It’s quiet, not too many people out, and we get to see more animals and the sunrise.

2. Practice. Waiting for the election results has been hard, to want something so much but also know you have to prepare yourself for not getting what you want and having to wade through everyone else’s opinions and perspectives to get to some sort of truth, especially when some of them are triggering, requires a particular kind of effort. I am so grateful that I practice even when things are good so that I’m prepared when it’s hard and I really need the stability and kindness and strength practice provides.

3. Pool, sauna, and massage. A few months in to the pandemic, when it became clear that this would be an ongoing challenge, I had to make some decisions about what things I needed to maintain my wellness in the long run even though they presented some risk in the short term. These are the three things I couldn’t do at home, couldn’t do for myself, but were necessary for me to stay strong, to access some necessary ease for my physical body. I’m so grateful for the way they are supporting me.

4. Comfort food. Eric made potato, corn, smoked salmon pot pie and an apple pie on Sunday. Other go-to comfort foods during the pandemic have been Frito’s, Harvest Cheddar Sun Chips, onion buns, big salads, apples, and pancakes.

5. My tiny family. Eric has been going to his office on campus to work more often. That combined with Sam being gone means that Ringo is looking to me more for love and attention, and I am so happy about that. Cattle Dogs are notorious for selecting one person as “their” person and sticking to them like glue. For Ringo, that person is Eric, and that’s always made me a bit sad, even though I get it, Eric is more fun — he goes hiking and running and plays in the backyard when all I want to do is walk and hang out on the couch and cuddle. When Sam was here, I was his person, so I’ve felt a bit lonely and appreciate that Ringo is helping me with that. There’s still no one I’d rather stay home with than these two.

“Dad, I love running with you but it’s too hot out here.”

Bonus joy: Wild Writing with Laurie, writing and hanging out with Mikalina, giggle fest with Chloe’ and Mikalina, texting with my mom and brother, taking bags of Halloween candy to our neighbor kids, the cute thank you card one of them made, choosing to take care of myself on a day when doing so was hard, dystopian fiction, shows about murder, Eric and Ringo playing in the backyard, how happy Ringo is to have stuffed squeaky toys, podcasts, movies, poetry, being retired, pay day, having my car paid off, getting the snow tires on my car, a random surprise voice message of a friend singing to me, laughing with Eric, the weekend, reading in bed at night while Eric and Ringo sleep.