While those who do see the long-term vision and our extreme challenges need to keep speaking out, to tell someone it’s not okay to step back for a breather, to take a few days or a few weeks to re-center yourself before re-entering the ring - is a damaging message.
Yes, we stand at a crucial crossroads and many Americans are oblivious. Yes, there are days when it feels like activists are barely holding it together, because we are. But self care is non negotiable. Finding a ray of light in the darkness is essential. Taking a moment to laugh, to sleep, to nurture your body is mandatory, or there will be no more people to affect change.
I recently wrote that I decided not to focus on doom and gloom, not because I want to bury my head in the sand, but because after decades as an activist, it’s not an effective mechanism. People respond better to proactive solutions, they tend to take action when we give them something to work towards, something to strive for.
If negative news worked, we would have fixed all this by now, since our news channels have been spewing fear-based messages for as long as I’ve been alive.
On a personal level, I need to feel optimistic sometimes, diving too deep into the muck all the time was impacting my mental, emotional and physical well-being. If I don’t have those, I’m not going to be able to help anyone.
Yes, there are selfish people and there are a lot of compassionate, dedicated people who are exhausted and need a break. We have serious work to do, but we are not here to be a martyr. I learned that from running around in my 30s and most of my 40s, until I was so exhausted I had nothing to give.
I’m affirming it’s ok to be a light. Not in a PollyAnna type of way, but if I can summon the true belief within myself that change is possible, even if it’s slow, then when I write and speak and teach, other people will believe the small things they are doing makes change possible too.
Since yo have a huge following, you might ask yourself, does complaining about everything with no real solutions or action steps actually benefit anyone? From my experience, I don’t think so…
