I listened to this again today. I thank you, Beth, for introducing Grandmother Joy to us. I have quite a few wind chimes on my two porches, and I would love to borrow Grandma Joy if you don't mind. I trust your irritable state has passed (and I trust that is so for the rest of us), but I also know it will return. Back and forth our hearts will ride from wonderful sweet applesauce to horrid stinky shit. I will be cautious with clever; it's just one step from cynical--a headspace I don't want to embrace. Ordinary, simple, innocent, pure things will be a refuge, a respite, a recharge. The more communities of goodness I engage with the better. Finding meaningful ways to respond in the days ahead is a necessity. I'll be talking with wind chimes to figure this out.
Thank you Beth! My husband is very stuck in the America/people/everything sucks mode and is actively looking for ways to move our family out of the country, out of a life I live in a house I love, in a community I love, near family I love! 😫 It’s so hard to know how to navigate this new reality in a way that feels right but also doesn’t destroy relationships.
Thank you for so perfectly capturing the I don’t know of it all! I am feel as though my innate animal instincts have kicked in. I sense danger, I am still and holding my breath, not sure if it is safe to move, or run, or if I should fight, or do nothing.
SAME!!! I am so on edge right now, and so grateful to you and Grandma Joy for articulating the feeling! For me I think it’s exacerbated by the holidays coming soon, at which I will feel compelled to avoid discussing the state of the world to keep the peace. Call me a coward, but my family connections are becoming more tenuous as my mom ages, and I don’t want to give up completely. But is it annoying? Oh yes
Beth, if you're up for it in the next month, I'd love a MTS on why we should still care about the news at this point. I'm having trouble getting there. It seriously seems like a reality clown show, and there's nothing I can do about it, so why steep myself in it? I have barely even read headlines since Nov 6th, and when I have juuuusst dipped a toe in, I immediately do a 180 and head the other direction. And I echo other subscribers: I for one would welcome any other news content at this time. Please do what you need/what feels right to you in the moment.
This makes me think about how much better off we might have been, and might be now, if during the pandemic a whole lot more people would have just been willing to say, “I don’t know.”
I've also been talking to my grandma who's been gone 11 years (glad she never had to decide about T)...and using the phrase clusterf#%k for more than I ever have. thanks for always leaning in to the difficult task of staying curious and being willing to not know.
And maybe it is ok (and even good?) to not know right now? It will unfold as it needs to and we will meet whatever comes. Hopefully with grace and nuance, but, most likely, only sometimes. And maybe that is ok, too? Thanks for being in it with us.
So well put Beth, as usual. I think the PSP team is doing a great job navigating this. I can only imagine how challenging it is to put out thoughtful content right now on top
of taking care of yourself and managing both a personal life and a family . The honesty about thoughts and feelings concerning what is coming at us fast and furious is helpful -and very much appreciated .
THIS! I can hardly think straight in my nonpolitical job. Let alone provide nuance as often as you do. I don’t know is SO VALID. Not that you need approval ❤️
I just sat alone in my bedroom eating a bowl of buttered and salted gluten-free bowtie pasta while listening to The Beach Boys, and tonight I’m going to watch the Mike Tyson boxing match on Netflix with my husband and son, even though we never watch any sports.
I don’t know if this is a cry for help or if this is me coping in a healthy way.
Ok, so I read the paragraph of names and came to “Volodymyr”. Stopped in my tracks. Honest to goodness I thought “why is Voldemort on this list? Is that how you spell it?” it wasn’t until I saw the last name at the beginning of the next line (on my phone) that I realized my error.
Anyway, in a mildly related thought, this quote is helpful to me:
“The opposite of faith is not doubt, but certainty. Certainty is missing the point entirely. Faith includes noticing the mess, the emptiness and discomfort, and letting it be there until some light returns. Faith also means reaching deeply within, for the sense one was born with, the sense, for example, to go for a walk”. [or drive]
All of this yes…AND… “I don’t know” if I want to ask questions of the person in my life about the election results. It is the elephant in my head right now. See what I did there😜😩
I listened to this again today. I thank you, Beth, for introducing Grandmother Joy to us. I have quite a few wind chimes on my two porches, and I would love to borrow Grandma Joy if you don't mind. I trust your irritable state has passed (and I trust that is so for the rest of us), but I also know it will return. Back and forth our hearts will ride from wonderful sweet applesauce to horrid stinky shit. I will be cautious with clever; it's just one step from cynical--a headspace I don't want to embrace. Ordinary, simple, innocent, pure things will be a refuge, a respite, a recharge. The more communities of goodness I engage with the better. Finding meaningful ways to respond in the days ahead is a necessity. I'll be talking with wind chimes to figure this out.
I appreciated this. I’ve been trying to route myself in the ordinary day to day and not to drown in the unknown.
Thank you Beth! My husband is very stuck in the America/people/everything sucks mode and is actively looking for ways to move our family out of the country, out of a life I live in a house I love, in a community I love, near family I love! 😫 It’s so hard to know how to navigate this new reality in a way that feels right but also doesn’t destroy relationships.
Yes Beth, yes. Thanks for articulating the general blehhh of the moment in a non-cynical hyperbolic way
Hi! I want to sign up for the holiday card exchange, but it looks like it's not set up for APO addresses. Can I participate?
Thank you for so perfectly capturing the I don’t know of it all! I am feel as though my innate animal instincts have kicked in. I sense danger, I am still and holding my breath, not sure if it is safe to move, or run, or if I should fight, or do nothing.
SAME!!! I am so on edge right now, and so grateful to you and Grandma Joy for articulating the feeling! For me I think it’s exacerbated by the holidays coming soon, at which I will feel compelled to avoid discussing the state of the world to keep the peace. Call me a coward, but my family connections are becoming more tenuous as my mom ages, and I don’t want to give up completely. But is it annoying? Oh yes
It feels so unfair that the election is so close to the holidays! Ugh. 😩
Thank you Beth for expressing how I feel! It is so comforting to know I’m not the only one who feels all the things right now. ❤️
Beth, if you're up for it in the next month, I'd love a MTS on why we should still care about the news at this point. I'm having trouble getting there. It seriously seems like a reality clown show, and there's nothing I can do about it, so why steep myself in it? I have barely even read headlines since Nov 6th, and when I have juuuusst dipped a toe in, I immediately do a 180 and head the other direction. And I echo other subscribers: I for one would welcome any other news content at this time. Please do what you need/what feels right to you in the moment.
This makes me think about how much better off we might have been, and might be now, if during the pandemic a whole lot more people would have just been willing to say, “I don’t know.”
I've also been talking to my grandma who's been gone 11 years (glad she never had to decide about T)...and using the phrase clusterf#%k for more than I ever have. thanks for always leaning in to the difficult task of staying curious and being willing to not know.
And maybe it is ok (and even good?) to not know right now? It will unfold as it needs to and we will meet whatever comes. Hopefully with grace and nuance, but, most likely, only sometimes. And maybe that is ok, too? Thanks for being in it with us.
So well put Beth, as usual. I think the PSP team is doing a great job navigating this. I can only imagine how challenging it is to put out thoughtful content right now on top
of taking care of yourself and managing both a personal life and a family . The honesty about thoughts and feelings concerning what is coming at us fast and furious is helpful -and very much appreciated .
THIS! I can hardly think straight in my nonpolitical job. Let alone provide nuance as often as you do. I don’t know is SO VALID. Not that you need approval ❤️
I don’t know either. I am also irritable.
I just sat alone in my bedroom eating a bowl of buttered and salted gluten-free bowtie pasta while listening to The Beach Boys, and tonight I’m going to watch the Mike Tyson boxing match on Netflix with my husband and son, even though we never watch any sports.
I don’t know if this is a cry for help or if this is me coping in a healthy way.
Jovial? Jovial GF pasta will get us thru this, yes you're right, particularly the bow tie shape.
Yes, Jovial is the best. I got another box yesterday, so I am ready for whatever comes my way this week. I hope.
Ok, so I read the paragraph of names and came to “Volodymyr”. Stopped in my tracks. Honest to goodness I thought “why is Voldemort on this list? Is that how you spell it?” it wasn’t until I saw the last name at the beginning of the next line (on my phone) that I realized my error.
Anyway, in a mildly related thought, this quote is helpful to me:
“The opposite of faith is not doubt, but certainty. Certainty is missing the point entirely. Faith includes noticing the mess, the emptiness and discomfort, and letting it be there until some light returns. Faith also means reaching deeply within, for the sense one was born with, the sense, for example, to go for a walk”. [or drive]
Anne Lamott, Plan B: Further Thoughts on Faith
Tx for sharing that wonderful quote.
All of this yes…AND… “I don’t know” if I want to ask questions of the person in my life about the election results. It is the elephant in my head right now. See what I did there😜😩