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We're in it Now
More than once over the past weeks, the writer John Scalzi has noted that what makes 2016 a particular flaming trash heap (or is it just “dumpster fire”..is there a consensus on the term yet?) is that it all started out very hopeful.
True.
Personally, I’d been feeling a bit stuck for awhile, but hopeful that I was breaking out of it. And 2016 was a lesson about quicksand – the more you struggle, the faster you sink.
That’s an exaggeration. I haven’t been sinking. I’ve been struggling with the idea that I’m Not Doing Enough. And the more I Do, the more I see there Is to Do and I am just not satisfied. It is a very bad trap and The Election made it worse.
Side Note: If this really is the end of the world as we know it, this past election will be The Election the same way 1986 was The Super Bowl.
Meet more people. Learn (and relearn) the issues. Get out into the community. Do more to earn my paycheck. Support more causes.
It occurred to me at the bar on NYE that “drink more vodka” somehow hadn’t made the cut in 2016.
The most frustrating conversation I had with a Trump voter was while talking about Chicago and Springfield. When I said, “OK, so what is the answer? What do we do?” He said, “There isn’t anything we can do. So I’m taking care of my own family and that’s it.” I can’t live with that.
Grateful. Purposeful. Kind. Inclusive. I’m not doing anything particularly well because I’ve spread myself thin. I am reminded of a conversation I once had where a friend noted that he thinks he wants time alone but is actually happiest when he is busy and I laughed because I think I want to GoGoGo but am really happiest when I am drinking coffee and reading.
The thing is, Election Day was a game changer. I don’t have the answers but I know I can’t be sitting out the next rounds. I’m going to have to work on balance. Scott Smith, who is one of my favorite people to follow on Twitter, had a great thought (the second one..I still can’t make this Embed Twitter thing work properly):
https://twitter.com/ourmaninchicago/status/815441456638869505
“We’ve got this,” is going to be my 2017 mantra.
The Next Dark Age 