“In this world of sin and sorrow there is always something to be thankful for; as for me, I rejoice that I am not a Republican.” ~ H.L. Mencken
How are you holding up, dear friends? I’m not going to lie, I’m shattered. This well of deep dread, the frayed nerves, the buzzing anxiety, the twitching eyelid are all familiar feelings—fight or flight—and they plagued me from the 2010 Maine gubernatorial election (if you know, then you know) until just a year or so ago, as the pandemic ebbed. That’s a long time to have an excess of cortisol flooding your system. And now it’s back for the next four? eight? infinity? years. (Joke’s on me for saying my life is pretty right-side-up these days.)
I don’t mean to be a downer, but I believe we need to be honest about how we’re feeling about this travesty. Last night I forgot to take the handful of Benadryl that made it possible for me to sleep through the previous two nights and woke in the wee hours with my mind racing—about all the ways my little family circle will be impacted by what we know is coming and about the even more daunting threats to those most vulnerable: immigrants, trans people, women who are or may become pregnant.
I’m coincidentally reading a book about witch trials, and it’s so obvious that human society continually repeats the same pattern that it should be a joke but it’s not at all funny: find the people with the least power, blame them for all of society’s problems, persecute them unto death, lather, rinse, repeat. I’d like to think we’ve evolved beyond ignorant peasants, but nope, we haven’t.
I had a fun, lighthearted idea for this month’s post, but I’m not feeling it today, so I’ll save it for next month. I do think there’s space—even a necessity—for lightheartedness and fun even in dark times. For now I’ll share a couple of the things that have helped me cope over the last couple of days:
INSIDE
Spending Time with Friends. Yesterday two dear friends and I worked on a project that involved a lot of thinking, moving around, and organizing physical stuff (in service of our bird education curriculum). It took us a minute to get focused, as frazzled as we all felt, but once we got going, it took our minds off fascism for three hours. Which was really nice. Spending time with good, caring people who use their time to make the world a better place is what saved my life during this clown’s first rodeo. I’m counting on it doing so again.
OUTSIDE
Spending Time in Nature (with Friends). Another friend and I were scheduled to get together Wednesday to plan a workshop we want to teach, but neither of us could face thinking about the future. So instead we met and went for a walk in a place of great natural beauty. We wandered among the trees and raged and mourned and raged some more. We put our feet in the ocean and shuffled them in the sand. We didn’t change anything, but I think we both felt better afterward.
INSIDE AGAIN
Reading and Eating. On the way home from the walk with my friend, I stopped at Gulf of Maine Books, and wandered among the shelves, eavesdropping on bright light in this dark world Gary Lawless and his wife administering ad-hoc counseling to all the brokenhearted who came through the door. I picked up a copy of How Fascism Works by Jason Stanley, because we’re gonna need to be educated about what’s coming at us, and Wintering by Katherine May, because we’re going to need to practice radical self-nurturing. I also picked up a gorgeous Italian pastry at Solo Pane, because sometimes you need to eat your feelings.
One more thing: I know I said I don’t like to give advice, so this isn’t advice, per se, but it would not be a terrible idea if every woman who has the remotest chance of becoming pregnant scheduled an appointment with their primary care physician or OB/GYN to get a Mirena IUD inserted at the earliest possible opportunity.
UPCOMING WORKSHOP
Cultivating Curiosity
The most important tool in the naturalist's knapsack is not binoculars, a hand lens, or a field guide—it's curiosity! In this workshop, as we explore HVNC, we'll practice opening ourselves to curiosity, asking questions of the landscape, and feeling comfortable with not knowing the answers. Through a series of writing exercises, we'll capture the experience of noticing, wondering, and discovering, and we'll come away with short poems or prose generated through following where our curiosity leads us.
November 16, 2024, 10 a.m. - noon. Hidden Valley Nature Center, Jefferson, ME.
Only $5! Register here.
WRITING NEWS
Uphill Both Ways got a great review in The Rocky Mountain Reader.
Check out what I’ve been reading in my October 2024 Reads post.
Keep an eye out for my article on exploring winter nights in Maine in the forthcoming 2024 Green & Healthy Maine Winter Guide, which should appear in your local tourist center, coffee shop, natural foods store, or other likeminded business in early December.
Get your copy of Uphill Both Ways: Hiking toward Happiness on the Colorado Trail.
May you find solace in friends, nature, books, and/or pastry today.