Ahoy, friends! How is everyone managing?
A few important notes before I jump in:
- Russia invaded Ukraine, not the other way around.
- The Gulf of Mexico is the Gulf of Mexico.
- Donald Trump is an orange asshole. He is not and never will be a king.
- Truth matters.
So here we are, with the most heinous, ugly people on the planet doing heinous, ugly things. The list is long: ignoring the rule of law, attacking pretty much anyone who isn’t a cisgender white male, trashing relationships with global allies, stealing under the guise of austerity and attempting to dismantle democracy as we know it. To quote the Ramones, “I’m against it.”
We’ve all been talking about resistance and thinking about what that means for each of us. I’ve decided that for me resistance is a mindset. It’s a daily decision about how I want to show up for this nightmare. Just as in meditation, when we return to the breath again and again, I return to a mindset of resistance, especially in those grim moments that test me. God knows there have been plenty.
I believe we can cultivate this mindset by performing big and small acts of resistance: attending protests, flipping off a Tesla dealership, calling our representatives, creating anti-fascist art and more. Not every action will necessarily move the dial. But every action strengthens the resistance muscle. For the most part, I’ve stopped wearing make-up. Mostly, this is due to my own evolution as a woman; I’m more concerned with how my body feels than the way it looks. But there is also an intent to resist. I’m no longer trying to adhere to a standard of beauty that I never signed on for. And this is also one way that I exercise bodily autonomy, something antithetical to everything this misogynistic movement stands for.
The biggest act of resistance is refusal to allow them to invade my mind. They want us to freak out. They want us to be overwhelmed. They’re banking on our emotional and mental dysregulation. They want to beat us down and exhaust us. But I’m stubborn. I’ve gone through a lot in this lifetime. I’ve clawed out of many a deep crevasse. I’ve endured agonizing losses. I’ve navigated tumultuous paths to healing, to myself. After all that, I’ll be damned if I let them break me. I’m sure the same is true for all of you. If we do nothing else during this ominous crisis, fortifying our minds is the ultimate resistance.
