I don’t need to tell you the world is going to hell in a handbasket, and it all feels overwhelming and depressing and about 40 other diagnoses in the DSM-5. If we were on the Enterprise, we’d be at red alert and battle stations and the warp core would be threatening to breach. But this is not the time to despair. It’s the time to drink, feel like shit, despair a tiny bit, and then get on with the work, dammit. And, here, I’m really yelling at myself, sorry to drag you into it.
In trying to prop myself up, I’m pulling out every cliché I can find, I’m digging in the couch cushions, tearing through old journals (although to be honest, those are only helpful to remind me I’m not nearly as crazy as I used to be), and reading the underlined passages in books that spoke to me. And when I saw the below in my email box, I grabbed onto it like the last piece of chocolate cake and bottle of wine in the world.
Since the coming of the orange fleabag, I have been on the mailing list of the Americans of Conscience Checklist, which has saved my ass plenty of times. Who knew the orange fleabag was just a rehearsal for 2022? OK, we all kind of knew it, we just kept thinking it wouldn’t happen. Anywho, here is the most recent list of good news, changes small and large. The good news is at the very bottom, after the actions you can take, but I know you all can doomscroll like a boss, and have every confidence you can find it. After you see how much good work is going on, if you are so moved, you can also take action. There’s really something for everyone on the list, and it often helps me feel better when I do. Mostly it reassures me there are many of us working on this and gives me focus — honestly those digital native young ones got nothing on me as far as attention span. It’s like that old show, “Name that Tune.” I can forget that thought in 5 milliseconds.
Drink, feel like shit, despair a little, and then get on with the work.
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