Hi friends!
So much has happened in the last month! It feels different, with both subtle and big shifts.
I welcome the quieter form of chaos in the news. We have seen some much needed positive changes from the current administration: using executive orders, which the previous administration abused, to reverse policies that were dangerous and damaging, revealing a functional Pandemic plan, and creating a cabinet that more closely represents the actual demographics of this country. This kind of a running start was necessary to curb the damage we have all been living through. And, it was still only a start. We still need to keep our eyes open and hold elected officials accountable to not only end archaic policies, but create real, lasting, and meaningful change for those who are not the 1%.
Still, what a sense of relief! And grief.
I find myself slowly, daily, beginning to notice my body softening a little bit at a time. I am noticing my breath has been finding places to rest below my diaphragm and connecting to places that have been saturated with anger, fear, horror and disbelief. As I begin to explore these changes, the pain and sadness of what has happened leaves me in a state of disbelief, in states of grief.
I don’t often think the ‘what ifs’ are a healthy way to deal with change, but in this case, reminding myself what could or should have been, is a good way to keep track of the minimal expectations of our elected leaders. These “what ifs” remind us to raise the bar back to, and above, where it should have been this time last year.
In addition to the lives lost to COVID-19, there were many lost to injustices that were grossly upheld by the last administration that were amplified by the pandemic.
I feel the losses and try to make sense of them. I come back to a place of knowing that we, as small communities, can help each other not only survive, but thrive.
We can start to recognize what we have gained and strengthen these practices. But first, we have to grieve.
I had "dinner" this month with an old friend, Charley MacMartin. Charley is the Volunteer Services Manager at The University of Vermont Health Network Home Health & Hospice. We chatted about, art, creativity, grief, COVID, end of life, and community. Visit our conversation here. See below for links for some of the resources Charley mentioned.
I am still thinking about the idea of communities of care - the intersections of art, creativity, community, healing, and justice.
For now, “Over Dinner” will continue to remain a virtual event. Please get in touch if there are topics you would like to explore or to facilitate.
Stay tuned next month for more information on an upcoming public art project this Spring.
Be safe, be well.
jen
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