This morning we woke. Not from a bad dream, but from the illusion that we had progressed far enough as a nation that we wouldn’t collectively place our futures in the hands of a racist, ableist, misogynistic, evil-hearted, bullying, sexual predator.
This morning we woke. Not from a nightmare, but from the fantasy that we had outgrown the evils of white supremacy. Of the KKK. Of the intoxicating power of fear-induced extremism.
This morning we woke. Not from the trauma of night terrors but to a reality that feels too traumatic to fathom.
Now we are left with nothing but the rally cry that wells up within each of us. We are left to join our rally cries so that they become an anthem so loud that they drown out the hate, fear and intolerance that is having its last hurrah. Now we are left with whatever determination we can scrape together to get to work and to not stop. Not for anything.
May we take this opportunity to dedicate every ounce of our energy, talent, ability, magic and more to stand with and for each other.
May we remember the power of art. May we wrap ourselves in it, like a protective shield. May it help us make sense of what we have lost, where we have found ourselves and where we will go next.
May every song that leaves our lips be a song of resilience, protest and protection. May every dance we dance be one that calls on the power of our ancestors, our angels and our guides to help us find our way through this. May every painting help us witness what we are, what we are capable of, what we can become.
May we take the time we need to mourn. To move through the shock, the numbness and the stages of grief that accompany loss. May we take the time to recognize when our PTSD is re-triggered, set-off and ignited. Those of us that have survived rape, domestic violence, sexual harassment, racial profiling and any other kind of violence at the hands of a bully with systemic power will know that this presidency is a threat to our personal and national security.
The rest will come to realize it.
May we huddle together to plan our strategic next steps. May we be open to what we don’t know. May this make us want to be better. May our hunger to learn more about our past, our present and our future possibilities become ferocious.
May every white feminist become fiercely intersectional and deeply suspicious of the fact that 53% of white women voted for white-supremacist misogyny. May every white family sit down and have a heart-to-heart talk about how they as a unit benefit from white privilege and how they can leverage their privilege to level the field. May every white person look at their own privilege relentlessly and decide that they’d rather wake up to their humanity than hang on to the illusion that deconstructing racism isn’t their work to do.
May we collectively come together and do everything we can to protect those that are most vulnerable. May our resources go to funding POC, LGBTQ2SI led progressive, grass-roots organizations. May we do everything we can to shift power. May every single form of spiritual practice and every single spiritual practitioner be more invested in equality than in dogma.
May we all remember to go to the meetings, the meet-ups, the prayer circles, the coven gatherings, the community events, the churches, temples, mosques, synagogues and sacred spaces that refuel us and connect us to a generative vision for the world.
May we not give up. Not now, not ever.