SAVE THE WORLD? NAH....

My "resolution" for this year was to STOP.   

I decided to stop trying to be or do anything particularly noteworthy.  Stop hoping for anything that is not happening.  In fact, I've banished "hope" from my vocabulary and emotional life.  Instead of saying "I hope..." this or that, I try to remember to say instead, "It would be nice if..."  I can hope all I want; that's not gonna make anything end up differently than how it will.  Hope feels like a wished for outcome without any real control over its realization.  

But just because I've given up on the word "hope", that doesn't mean I don't care.  Yet, sometimes I feel a wee bit like a slacker when I choose not to engage in various activities, events, conversations, commitments.  But it's getting easier the more I check in with myself and honor the answer that is already there.  Mostly that answer is: "No; not now."

I've spent most of my adult life saying "yes" to a zillion commitments.  Not only those that come to me from "outside" -- being asked to serve on a committee or join a group/organization or host a holiday gathering or go to a party. But also those that have come from within -- creating and facilitating any number groups, activities, and events that didn't exist before I imagined them into being and made them happen.

I don't regret most of those years of non-stop organizing and facilitating and working for various causes (both internal and external), but I do wish I had a some of that time back -- especially the time that ended up being compulsively perfectionistic, unwelcome, or ultimately meaningless.  I wish I had been more aware during the times I was over-calendared, stressed out, exhausted, and couldn't say "no", allowing one thing to snowball into the next.  I wish I had  been more aware of the toll it was taking on my mental and physical health and probably on my relationships.  I wish I'd taken longer breaks between one thing ending and another beginning.  

I think that might be what I'm doing now.  Or maybe it will always be like this year has been going forward.  I've continued to address my own internal life, some relationship stuff with Hub, my family and friends, but with less urgency, less desperation, less "hope".  I'm finally seeing clearly how things are.  I don't have to like it.  I do have to decide if I can live with it.  So far I can.  And with that I am more content...or getting there anyway.

As for worldly concerns, I've taken an enormous step back.  I unsubscribed to most political and non-profit outreaches.  I reluctantly turn on the nightly news -- but now the 30 minute version on network TV, not 2 hours of cable outrage political commentary every night (OK, just Monday night for my one weekly hour with Rachel Maddow, who is brilliant, funny, not outrageous, and does not yell.)  I still read the newspaper and various periodicals, but not religiously.  And yet, I still do great on the New York Times Friday News Quiz! Yay, me!  I'm not ignoring the world.  But I avoid a lot of the vitriol.  

And I'm not raising my hand to volunteer for much of anything.  The whole idea of "getting involved" sort of feels like a sucker punch to my gut.  There is a sense of pre-commitment angst just thinking about it.  I think this is maybe a PTSD reaction or an indicator of burn-out.  I just can't seem to motivate myself to be the old me.

I watch others step into action and feel some guilt.  My local Indivisible group is incredibly politically active, working for issues and candidates I support.  I know it's held together by the hard, tireless work of a few strong, amazing women.  In a former life I would have been one of them.  Now I support them financially, write postcards to local voters, go to the occasional rally -- not nearly enough support for them.  But the thought of being more involved makes me feel a sense of dread.

I watch in my own home as Hub is immersed, as he's been for more than 5 years now, in work around educating and organizing groups to address the climate crisis.  I have resented his hours of devotion to various commitments around that issue over recent years.  It seems to consume him at times.  This year I realized this will not change.  It has been the same with other "causes" over the years, even when we both were over-committed.  I changed my priorities, but he didn't in that regard.  So I have to change my perspective.  I tell myself, "He works part time/half-time." His payment isn't monetary, but it is obviously rewarding for him to be engaged in this way or he wouldn't do it.  I think of it as his job now and the hours he spends in various in-person or Zoom meetings, at the computer, on the phone talking or texting, or with email, each happening at all hours of day/evening/weekends as the need arises, are how he does his work.  His commitment is commendable and his work important.  I'm glad it's not me.

So, how do I occupy my time?   

• I'm not planning, striving, hoping, working, engaged in conflict, or losing sleep.  I don't have a calendar that rules my life; nothing is there that can't be changed or cancelled for reasons large and small.  
• I am more home and garden focused, seeking to do satisfying tasks, even the unpleasant ones, that contribute to surrounding myself with beauty and comfort.  
• I stare out my big windows appreciating my great view of the city, water, mountains and the changing sky.  
• I've befriended the neighborhood cat and love sitting with him on my porch when he visits.  
• I try to see my youngest granddaughter (8) when I can: she still thinks I'm great and fun to be with so I have to take full advantage of that while it lasts.  She's my last admirer in the family.  LOL
• I see a few treasured friends.  
• I am reading for pleasure, having re-discovered fiction, especially woman-centered novels that are not sad or terrifying.  (English mysteries are nice.)  
• I am taking care of my growing-older body, which demands more time than one would imagine -- yoga asana practice, walking, weight training, nutrition, weight loss/maintenance, flossing. LOL  
• I take some occasional solo trips and am planning some big ones with Hub for next year.  
• I am re-learning needle crafts: sewing, embroidery, and my usual crochet.  
• I write this blog.  
• I teach some online yoga philosophy and general encouragement to meditate and move.  
• I scroll Facebook.  
• I watch TV shows -- lots and lots of cooking/travel/nature shows, fun comedies,  drama that isn't based on sadness and terror. (Thanks PBS).   
• I also watch football--Go Hawks!  (We all have our inconsistencies.  LOL)

All of that sounds like the very epitome of a woman I would have previously judged unengaged, lazy,  unmotivated, privileged, maybe stupid, definitely "old".  Uh-huh.  I am privileged.  I know that.  As for the rest?  Not so much.  I feel more alive and aware than at any other time in my life.  And I've stopped feeling badly about feeling contented most of the time.  I have devoted most of my adult life to efforts to effect change in the public square.  Right now I need to just stay home, do what I can -- but not more than I can stand.  I use my privilege to try to support those who are out there fighting the good fight.  I'm learning that others will do as they do for as long as it serves them to do it.  Then the baton is passed.  I've passed the baton for now.  

But 2024 is coming....who knows what next year will bring?  

At least, that's the view from here...©

HAPPY NEW YEAR?

Let's stipulate that the world is a scary mess, still....yet....again.

I note that one week into 2020 the current administration has blustered, blundered, and lied the U.S. into an international crisis that endangers our military and may lead to another war in the Middle East and beyond.

Black and brown people continue to be detained at our borders and thrown into cells and cages in squalid conditions just for seeking legal refuge in the "land of the free".

The current occupier of the White House has been impeached in the House of Representatives, but the GOP-controlled Senate is pledging to support and work closely with the White House on a sham "trial" where they refuse to call witnesses to the president's wrongdoing.

The current White House occupant's son, a civilian, showed up on social media today grinning while clutching to his breast an AR 15-style assault rifle (the mass murderers weapon of choice), a military weapon even though this guy will never be called, nor volunteer, to serve our country in the military.  No, he's not the errant youngest child, loony black sheep of the family.  He is the eldest, 42 years old  and favored child, head of the family business dynasty. (Well, in name only; his daddy is likely still running the business, Constitutional prohibition be damned.) The gun is etched with the Christian cross symbol used in the Christian Crusades of the middle ages when Christians decided to rid the world of Muslims.  Also etched is a depiction of Hillary Clinton behind bars, in a nod to imprisoning innocent-of-any-crime political rivals.  So there's that, which about sums it all up.

I could go on and on.  Suffice to say, the shit-show of this Administration continues and we are all getting very, very edgy.

Oh, and Australia is on fire with the climate crisis consequences of global warming, burning like  Armageddon and killing tens of thousands of animals, spewing smoky particulate matter into the air and lungs, burning homes and homesteads...on and on...while some continue to deny the reality of climate change and continue to prop up the fossil fuel industry as if there is no tomorrow (and soon there won't be.)

It's all rather depressing.  My passion for politics as a means to equality, compassion, inclusion, fairness, life, liberty, safety -- democracy done right -- is still strong.  But there are times when I notice myself turning away from the news, skipping articles and stories that I previously would have read, in favor of obsessively watching old episodes of Outlander to calm my fraying nerves.  We are all fatigued.  We all need a break from the daily gaslighting, lying, evil-doing, and selfishness of this authoritarian- loving and -leaning president and his apologists and supporters.  Sigh.

What to do?  2020 is the election year we've all be waiting for.  The Democratic field started huge and hugely diverse with the white guys sharing time and space with women and people of color.  Well, naturally, we are down to the front runners being three white guys and a white women.  I confess to jumping all over the place in who I most support, but at no time have I been truly excited about any of these left standing.  So the nominee will be vastly better than what we have, but not as good as we could have had, in my judgement.  I'm a bit bummed about that.  Still, this is the year we roll up our sleeves and get to work!  (That pep talk feels false right now; I just want to go back to Outlander.)

I think that is part of the plan of the current Administration -- to wear us out, wear us down, create a feeling of overwhelm,  hopelessness, distraction, and exhaustion.  It's easier to have their way with a meek and downtrodden populace.  History shows this to be true.

So I will rally my energy!  I will join groups that keep me motivated and I will admit my dismay and keep going anyway.  I will end this blog post and call my Senators and Representatives urging them to stop the march toward war and to insist on a fair and lawful Senate impeachment trial, because too many fought and died for this country's vision, too many voiceless need my voice, because I can't live with myself if I don't do something.

Are you depressed by this post?  Me too.  The antidote is action.  Let's go!

At least, that's the view from here...©

ACHING FEET, JOYFUL HEART

My buddy, former VP Al Gore, would be proud of me.  I logged 12, 667 steps on my Fitbit yesterday at the Seattle Climate Strike March and Rally.  I expect that this whole climate crisis thing is now taken care of.  Done and dusted. You're welcome.

Wait?  What?  It's not fixed?  Damn!  There were marches worldwide yesterday, with millions of people taking to the streets over every continent.  In Seattle the only figure I can find this morning is "thousands" so I guess no one was doing an actual head count, but I can attest to the "thousands" number as marchers stretched for blocks from a festival type rally at a neighborhood park, then marched for a little over a mile on closed city streets to City Hall downtown.  I was one of those, as was Hub.

We got up early, hopped on a bus for the 25 mile trip to downtown Seattle, transferred to another bus to get to the park and felt pretty proud of ourselves -- we used no fossil fuels, did not contribute to clogged freeway lanes, spent a total of $2.00 using our Senior transit cards and ended up a block from where we were to meet up with the group we marched with:  Washington Physicians for Social Responsibility.   

We were part of that organization in the early 1980's fighting nuclear proliferation and the siting of a Navy base on the waterfront 1/2 mile from our home.  Yes, the base is here, but we slowed them down and helped reduce the number of ships homeported in our town.  Small victories.  Alas, some of those ships still house nuclear reactors and carry nuclear weapons and we hope to this day that none of our warnings about accidents and incidents come to pass.  Anyway, we are back with WPSR, now working with their Climate Change Task Force, and helping to organize a chapter in our county.

The park was jammed with people of all ages, toddlers to great-grandparents, carrying signs, staffing booths of local organizations, listening to youth speakers, and an air of hopeful enthusiasm infused the festivities. It was actually sort of a Progressive Nirvana.  

We noticed 3 black-clad Antifa types standing around looking like middle-school gangbanger wanna-bes, not intimidating anyone in the least.  The crowd would likely have overwhelmed them with rainbows and unicorns and Progressive talking points, so they remained mostly marginalized.  (Also there was a significant police presence in that area of the park, watchful, but relaxed and smiling at the crowd.)

Once the march began people filled the streets and spilled over onto the sidewalks, mostly chatting, smiling, taking photos, waving signs.  It was the typical Seattle crowd of polite, happy, optimistic, enthusiastic, and slightly self-righteous do-gooders who are earnest about their causes and ready to join with others to make change happen in whatever way it must.  (And, of course, along the route was the usual one guy with a megaphone shrieking about humanity's sinful ways and that we cannot save the earth because God will destroy it, as prophesized, to punish us.  Seriously?  Jesus, if you are listening, please do come back and set them straight.)

This event originated with 16-year-old Swedish Climate Activist Greta Thunberg, spread worldwide, and made way for local youth to lead.  All the speakers at the park were teens, as were the march leaders, and city hall speakers.  It felt amazing to literally follow this generation and to cheer their determination to make a better world for themselves and all who come after.

Hub and I had gone to Minneapolis in early August to take part in and be trained and certified as Climate Reality Leaders, an opportunity offered by Al Gore's Climate Reality organization.  Generally twice a year in the US and once a year internationally, Climate Reality trains folks to spread the word on the climate crisis, to become educators and activists locally.  There were 1200 people in our 3 day training, the typical number.  Gore was integrally involved, not just giving the opening and closing statements, but also taking the stage for his famous slide show presentation (which we now have in our possession to use as we want adapting it to a variety of audiences), moderating panel discussions, and recognizing outstanding volunteers for the organization.  His closing speech had everyone on their feet cheering and clapping.  (That guy should run for something! HA)

I thought of that training yesterday as we marched, as I looked around at the crowd, as I watched news reports covering marches worldwide, as I watched the two-part special on the Climate Crisis hosted by Chris Hayes on MSNBC this past Thursday and Friday evenings, as I watched the 2020 Democratic Candidate Climate 7-hour Town Hall a couple of weeks ago.

It wasn't that long ago that no one was paying attention, that people like Al Gore were shouting into a relative void.  His decades-long fight to get the attention of the country on this issue must have been an exercise in total frustration.  But he and others have persevered.  Now, finally, as the effects of climate change are all around us and impacting everyone, people are waking up.  A good thing, since time is running out to change the inevitable course we are on.

Al Gore often quotes the late Rudy Dorenbush,  MIT economist:  "Things always seem to take longer to happen than you think they will, but when they do, they happen faster than you ever thought they could."  I hope so.

We may be at a tipping point.  People are ditching plastic straws and plastic bags, doubling down on recycling, taking the bus more often, changing to LED light bulbs, but the biggest, most lasting and impactful actions are those we take at the policy level.  We have an administration in office now which not only denies climate change, but is actively contributing to it.  The best action we can take is to work like hell to vote them out and to vote in politicians who will act on policy that addresses the #1 existential threat to humanity.

I looked around yesterday, proud to be part of movement that will not give up or give in; proud to be marching with a new generation of leaders and activists.  And every step of the way I held my grandchildren close in my heart.  One older woman held a sign that spoke for me:  "I'll be dead; I'm marching for my grandkids."  Me too.

At least, that's the view from here...©

HUMBLE PIE

I'll get to the Humble Pie part of this post in a bit, but first a little background, which will make this a long post, but hang in there...

If you follow me on Facebook you've seen my sometimes screaming, crying, berating, but mostly pleading calls for action on various issues stemming from "resistance" to the current White House Administration.  One of these issues, close to my heart, mind, and spirit, is dealing with the very real and immediate threat of climate change and the attendant realities we all face, and will for generations, unless we seriously address what is happening.

The current administration are mostly "climate deniers" who have buried their heads in polluted sand and think the solid and unquestionable science  around this topic is stupid and alarmist.  The EPA chief has said he wants to dismantle the EPA and has embroiled himself in dozens of scandals while in his position all the while making good on his promise.  The Interior Secretary is selling off public lands and allowing the killing of wolves and bears in their dens with pups and cubs, and allowing shooting caribou from the air as they try to swim to safety.  The President has pulled the US from the Paris Climate Accords, something the previous administration worked mightily to help create in an alliance with world leaders to address climate change.

So...some states, including mine, have decided we need to take action locally.  Last year a bill was introduced into the Washington State legislature to place a fee on carbon polluters with the money going into a designated fund to address the effects of this pollution, to provide research, development, and implementation of alternative clean energy sources, to offer job retraining for those displaced from fossil fuel dependent jobs, to mitigate the health and environmental effects of pollution on communities most affected -- those who live near factories and refineries -- generally lower income and/or people of color.

We went to the State Capitol twice to lobby for this.  The bill never made it out of committee for a vote, in spite of strong support by our governor.

So...Washington has a citizen's initiative process that allows for issues not addressed in the legislature to be taken directly to the people in a ballot referendum upon which we can vote, by-passing the legislature all together.  All it takes is for a referendum to be drafted, co-sponsored, funded, approved, and sufficient signatures gathered, based on a percentage of the number of votes cast in the previous election.

Initiative 1631, backed by a broad coalition of environmental, business, housing, labor, faith, and social justice organizations, is the Clean Air/Clean Water initiative for which we are now collecting signatures.  We need 259,622 registered voters to sign by July 6.  The recommendation is to gather a cushion of over 300,000 to allow for non-valid signatures.   The official kick-off was May 6, although signatures were starting to be gathered in late April, statewide.  By last week, about half the number needed were gathered by volunteers.  Impressive.  But not enough with only a month to go.

Now the paid signature gathers have joined in.  This is common practice, but one that is costly to citizens' referendum campaigns.  Paid gathers get from $3.00 to $15.00 per signature!  They typically stand outside events and stores with multiple referendums in hand, gathering signatures on each form.  (Washington currently also has Universal Health Care and Weapons Safety measures seriously trying to make the ballot, a dozen or more others that won't make it.)

This may give you an idea of how difficult it is to work this kind of campaign, and costly in terms of money (all based on donations!), time, and energy (all based on volunteers until the paid folks flock in.)  Hub has been at the center of our county action from the beginning, with others locally.  Last fall he signed on as a Climate Justice Steward, meaning he would take leadership in educating groups, recruiting and organizing other signature gatherers, as well as making that commitment himself.  We have hosted meetings and trainings at our home and he has attended the same elsewhere.  I have been his constant cheerleader and have tried my best to enlist help from others as well.

So far, Hub has personally, all by himself, collected over 1800 signatures.  He got a T-shirt after 500, so he looks even more official when he's out there working the crowds at events or going car to car in the ferry lines. (We have a whole cross-sound "highway" of large vehicle ferries in the Puget Sound area.)  I'm so impressed by his commitment -- every weekend for hours and hours.

(We're getting to the Humble Pie.  Thanks for staying with me...)

My passion is for registering voters and making sure people vote.  I've been working with and being trained by an organization called Common Purpose to do just that, teaming up with other organizations at various locations locally and across the country in key states.

This past weekend, Hub and I went to Spokane to register voters and collect 1631 signatures at the big PRIDE festival there.  I had envisioned being in the beautiful riverside park with a big group of activists, under sunny skies and 70+ degree balmy temps, sitting at a table festooned with red, white, and blue bunting enticing the unregistered to register.  I would venture into the crowd and talk to folks about registering.  I would get so many people registered just by the power of my magnetic personality and enthusiastic patriotic patter, that I'd probably create the Blue Wave we are hoping for all by myself!  As my friend told me, I must have envisioned myself as a modern day suffragette -- part of a movement I so admire.

But no.  As luck would have it, the weather turned overnight and Saturday saw a steady rain and low 50's temps.  Not one other person from Common Purpose was there when we arrived, and there was no table for us to use.  We met up with the 1631 folks, who Hub knew and was the reason he was there anyway.  I ended up with two petitions, a bunch of info sheets, some "I Signed" stickers in hand, a 1631 Clean Air Clean Energy sign hung around my neck.  I was told to work the crowd.  Huh???  This was not the stuff of my dreams.  I tucked my Voter Reg forms in with the other stuff and off I went.  Grumpy.  Wet.  Sullen.  Disappointed.  Pissed.  Gloomy.  Fighting nausea.  (I'd had a horrible migraine the previous day).  You get the picture.  But I can turn it on, slap on a happy face, and give it the enthusiastic try when I so choose.  So I did.

I didn't foresee so many people rejecting my good-natured efforts.  Too young to sign, not interested, from out of state, in a hurry, "maybe later", or just plain rude.  Plus, I quickly realized how hard it is for me to go up to strangers, interrupting their conversations, quiet rumination, or tasks, and ask them to sign.  Occasionally I ran into Hub who was stopping people left and right, engaging them in jolly conversation, being Mr. Extrovert.  He was possessed by a persona so unlike himself,  a personality I barely recognized, and he seemed to be having fun!  That just made me feel even worse for my obvious failings.

I ended up after only two hours of an eight hour commitment taking refuge under a bridge with a couple of other homeless people, near the port-a-potties, sulking.  Hub found me and tried to offer encouragement, but I was soon in tears, embarrassed and forlorn.  In spite of my constant haranguing of others to "get involved" and "do something", here I was flunking Citizen Activism 101 and trying not to throw up.  I had collected five signatures and registered one voter (in addition to the 30 or so signatures from friends, family, and neighbors I got at home and one other registered voter.)

I quit.  Right then and there.  I quit.  I headed back to the Mall parking garage and mostly sat in the car for the next six hours.  For the first three I harangued myself for being a fraud and a failure.  For the next three I read, crocheted, scanned Facebook, went into the mall to use the restroom and walk around a bit.  I tried to eat but could only manage a few crackers.

Hub finally showed up at 6:30 (after collecting 210 signatures in his 8 hours) and we started the five hour drive home.  As I drove I had a tantrum of tears and self-recrimination over my terrible showing.  I swore never to attend another training or make another commitment.  I stated that I hate Trump but I cannot stop him.  I have no right to try to rally anyone to do anything and I'd have been better off like most people I know and just ignore this whole freaking debacle and pretend like our country isn't falling apart.

Hub listened, because he knows after 50 years together to not try to "fix" me.  But eventually I calmed down and he did quietly point out that my skill set may not be in signature gathering.  It may be demonstrated in many other ways equally potent.  If we all do something, change will happen to the good.

And by Sunday morning I was back to contacting legislators and planning on attending a climate justice speaker's bureau training next week.  I can talk publicly with ease.  I can write.  I can use my voice on social media.  I can host events in my home.  I can cheerlead and support others in meaningful ways.

I ate a huge hunk of Humble Pie on Saturday, allowing me to find compassion for those who don't do what is not comfortable for them.  It tasted yucky but was good for me, I suppose.

Let's all just agree to take the actions we can, make meaningful commitments to activism that fall within at least a portion of our comfort zone, and be gentle with each other -- and ourselves -- in the process.  As one of my Facebook friends said to me in encouragement.. "You got this!"

At least that's the (long-winded) view from here...©

RESISTANCE REVIEW AND OFF WE GO...

And so 2017 is winding down.  Seems appropriate, as I look back over the year's blog posts here (and also to some extent in the Circling the Mat blog I write about yoga) that I say a few words in reflection about the political shit-show that dominated my life this year.

I'm not going to recount the horrors; it's hard to even keep track and recall them all. Thankfully, Amy Siskind, nationally known author and speaker on girl/woman empowerment,  has done that for us by keeping a weekly list of "not normal" actions by this president and his administration.  It has garnered so much interest and so many followers, that a book, The List, is being published in April about the first year of this presidency and what has occurred in our march toward authoritarianism.  Anyway, yay for her because it is truly important that we not lose track of what has happened to our Republic this year --the eroding of norms and values, the passaged of laws and enactment of policies that prove to be so detrimental to so many Americans.

So, instead of recounting all of that, I've been reflecting on how MY life shifted this year, in response.

Immediately after the election on November 8, 2016, I was in shock and grief.  So many of us were.  Then came the Inauguration and the reality that what had befallen us was not just a fleeing nightmare but our way of life for possibly the next four or more years.  I recall feeling confused, overwhelmed, disoriented and determined.  Determined.  I love that I can recall feeling determined.  It meant that I wasn't free-falling into depression and hopelessness.

Here's a list that evolved over the past year, of actions I took as part of my personal "Resistance" activities.  Almost NONE of this was part of my life prior to 2017.  Now it is all so much like breathing...it just is:

ONLINE AND IN THE WORLD:

1.  Immediately turned to Facebook as a community of sharing, my own thoughts and feelings, as well as finding support and encouragement in our collective shock and resistance.  I feel at times compulsive about posting and I know many must by now just scroll by my daily shares and posts, but many have also told me they look to me to keep them informed and motivated, which is all the encouragement I need to keep it up.  We MUST not be complacent.  We MUST remember that this is "not normal" and we MUST keep fighting for justice.  I find my online presence to be a source of information and a place of community and encouragement, as well as catharsis.

2.  Online I also found support by joining Pantsuit Nation and Resistance Live -- national groups of folks who feel as I do.  I feel not so alone.

3.  Formed a women's "support group" called CARE (Commit, Act, Resist, Enlist) in late 2016 to process our anger and grief.  We met at my home and I tried to push it beyond tears and rage and into activism, but most were not ready for that, so it faded.  I'm thinking of re-invigorating it in 2018.

4.  Participated in the Women's March on January 21st which shockingly turned out to be a worldwide event of historic proportions.  I'm so thankful to have been part of it.  I wrote all about it in earlier blog posts and won't recount, but I can still "see" and "feel" the day in my head and heart as one of my life's highlights.

5.  I, with Hub, participated in the Tax Day (Show Us Your Tax Returns!) and the Science Marches (waving signs at a street corner on Kauai); the Climate March in our town (with 450 others!), and an Anti-Refugee Ban Rally.

ORGANIZATIONAL AFFILIATIONS:
1.  Hub joined 350.org, a climate justice group, and while I haven't attended meetings, I've kept abreast of their activities through him.

2.  We both re-joined Physicians for Social Responsibility, a group we belonged to in the '80s when we were fighting nuclear proliferation, but which has now expanded their scope to climate and economic justice issues.

3.  Hub became a Justice Steward for the Alliance for Jobs and Clean Energy, working to put an initiative on the Washington State ballot for a corporate carbon tax.  We did a Lobby Day together in our state capitol and hosted an organizing meeting at our home.

LOCAL POLITICAL ACTION:
1.  We attended an organizational meeting for a group working to ensure fair City Council representation throughout the various geographic neighborhoods in our growing and ever more sprawling city.

2.  We actively campaigned for and hosted an event for a young City Council candidate with fresh ideas and tons of enthusiasm, as well as for an incumbent with years of experience and expertise in climate issues.

FINANCIAL SUPPORT:
The money we used to give to the church we once attended has been re-directed with generous donations to these organizations:  (*new to us this year)
*ACLU -- ensuring legal action for justice
*Ploughshares Fund --  ending stockpiles of nuclear weapons
*Physicians for Social Responsibility -- working to educate and advocate for climate and economic justice and nuclear de-escalation, with emphasis on health effects of these issues.
Housing Hope -- local housing, childcare, and job training for homeless families
UUSC -- Unitarian Universalist Service Committee -- responding to needs world wide in times of turmoil and natural disaster
*Seattle Globalist -- online publication that focuses on connections between local and global issues
Project Ethiopia -- providing schools/education, safe water/sanitary development in small Ethiopian villages
ANSWER -- sponsoring the education of two charming, bright, amazing children in Nepal
*Climate Reality -- Al Gore's organization, working to educate on the causes and effects of climate change
*Every Town for Gun Safety -- educating on the need for common sense gun safety laws
*Revolutionary Love Project -- Valarie Kaur's organization to promote love and acceptance as a public ethic in media and politics.
Smaller contributions to various other organizations.

PERSONAL COMMITTMENT:
1.  Continued to volunteer at the foster care program where I'd worked for 10 years, supporting the staff who dedicate themselves to serving children in need of out of home placements due to abuse and neglect.

2.  Volunteered in my granddaughter's 1st grade classroom, not only to support her, but to show the other kids, most of whom come from lower socio-economic areas, and racially and ethnically diverse backgrounds, that serving them also serves the community in which we live, embracing the gifts they and their families bring to our city, state, country.

SUPPORT FREE PRESS:
Subscribed to:
New York Times
Washington Post
New Yorker
The Herald (our local paper)
Sent emails of thanks to those media outlets who I felt were upholding the best of the Free Press standards in the face of a constant barrage of vitriol from the current president.

ONLINE AND ON-AIR THOUGHT LEADERS, COMMENTATORS, & JOURNALISTS WHO HAVE KEPT ME INFORMED, MOTIVATED, & SANE.  I TURN TO THEM ALMOST DAILY:
Elizabeth Cronise McLaughlin -- Resistance Live on Facebook
Amy Siskand -- Facebook presence who keeps the list of "not normal" things happening nationally
John Pavlovitz -- Facebook presence, book author, and Liberal Christian minister
Dan Rather -- Storied journalist, historical voice of calm and reason, Facebook presence, and author of great new book "What Unites Us"
Charles Blow -- NYT Op-Ed columnist
Valarie Kaur -- Revolutionary Love founder and dynamic speaker/activist
Chris Hayes --MSNBC anchor, young, bright, fair, insightful
Rachel Maddow -- MSNBC anchor, who will totally get to the bottom of the Russian connection!
Prof. David Domke, University of Washington -- Lecture series on political topics that are fabulous -- did one series online, did one on campus; third on campus starts in January.
Many others...

DEMOCRACY IN ACTION:
Calls/texts/letters/FAXes/Tweets -- almost daily contacts to my own Congressional and State representatives, as well as those in leadership positions nationally who have influence over legislation that effects everyone.  So many issues, coming up so fast, so many calls to action, so many deadlines. There were victories and also defeats, but I've never felt more engaged in patriotism through involvement.  And I never expected to be first-name familiar with the members of the Judiciary and Intelligence committees, nor recall specifically how some Senator or Representative from Montana or Virginia voted on this or that!

I guess I did this blog post as a "note to self" to remind me, when I feel I've not done enough, that  I've done what I can and so have millions of others.  Together the Resistance WILL Prevail.

Let's go, 2018!  We've got this!

At least, that's the view from here...©

RANDOM THOUGHTS ON A RAINY DAY

MY FRIEND IS A GIFTED PIANIST.  She used to play for the church we attended, for local high school theater productions, and has given piano lessons to children and adults for decades.  Me included.  I took lessons at the same time as Son Two when he was very young, just to get him started.  I absolutely love piano music and have a passion for listening and watching others play.  I wanted to learn.  Well.  Just like the current president and his surprise about the complications of delivering health care to the masses, I had no idea playing the piano could be so complicated!  To do it well you actually have to use BOTH hands!  Nine months of struggle was enough for me, so I went back to appreciating the talents of others.  As for my friend, arthritis has slowed her a bit, but one wouldn't know it.  I could listen to her for hours....and am.  Today.  I have two of her CDs and they are exquisite.  Perfect for a gray, rainy afternoon and a pot of hot tea.
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I AM "ON VACATION" THIS WEEK.  I have days spread before me, tabla rosa.  Well, not exactly a blank slate, I guess.  Tomorrow I'm taking my daughter-in-law to a  Seattle "multi-media" production of  "A Woman's World" ("the inspiring stories of women and girls who are transforming our world") to honor her completion of her Master's in Business Degree.  Then Monday I do my foster care program volunteer gig before going to a League of Women Voters forum on a local political issue.  Tuesday I go to Seattle with a friend for lunch and art museum gazing.  Wednesday morning I have my volunteer time in my granddaughter's 1st grade classroom.  But in and around those events and all day Thursday and all day Friday I will be able to tackle long-postponed projects, including perhaps beginning the process of turning this and my other yoga blog into books!   There are companies that do such things and it's been on my "to do" list for a long time.  I want a "hard copy" to keep and maybe share with family members.  If the grid crashes, all these stories of my life will be lost!  (These are the thoughts insomnia is born of).
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YESTERDAY WAS HUB'S BIRTHDAY.  I started dating him 2 months shy of his 18th birthday.  Nearly 50 years ago...unbelievable.  We've grown, changed, lived lifetimes together as we look back and marvel that we are still here, still loving each other, wondering what comes next.  I asked him what 67 feels like (I'll know in December, but I wanted a heads up.)  He said it feels a lot like 66.  He notes that maybe he gets a bit tired more easily in recent years -- like he used to do 8 hours of yard and garden work, but now is ready to quit after 4 (which was probably more reasonable anyway -- our sons have un-fond memories of indentured servitude to this big piece of property and its raking, weeding, and mowing demands.)

His knee has been bothering him -- old football injury come back to haunt him -- and he fears that sooner rather than later a knee replacement may be on the horizon, which could interfere with his fearless and obsessive snowboarding schedule.  Not one for groomed runs, he loves the deep powder of the glades, making fresh tracks through the trees, but which is also more challenging physically.  But in almost every other way he is as fit (maybe more so) than that 18 year old kid I went out with in high school.  He certainly is more sensitive, self-aware, patient, kind, and compassionate than back then, when gender roles and goal-driven tasks and projects -- personal,  educational, and professional -- occupied his time and focus.

The whole family was here to celebrate over dinner last night.  We are so blessed by our sons and who they've grown to be, by the women they've brought into our lives, and the grandchildren we cherish.  So, keep those birthdays coming, I guess.  We are holding the alternative at bay wth much to appreciate still present for us.
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THE STATE OF THE UNION CONTINUES TO DETERIORATE.  There is a "before" November 8th and an "after".  I am still trying to adjust to the reality of what is happening.  It's well-documented, so I won't list the litany of horrors 45* continues to visit upon our great nation.  (I call him 45 for he is the 45th President, but *elected by a minority of the popular vote.) Suffice to say, we are 100% immersed in "the Resistance" but it does take a psychic toll.  Sometimes I long to have my life back from the constant barrage of information and calls to action.

We spent all day in our state capitol on Tuesday attending a policy training and public hearing on a climate change bill that the Republicans will ensure won't see the light of day.  You do what is right anyway and just keep fighting.

We've reconnected with Physicians for Social Responsibility, a fabulous organization, a chapter of which we and others organized in our county. It feels good to be "back", but sad that so many issues now need to be revisited with even more urgency.

There are dozens of grassroots groups forming and it's hard to keep up and know which to ally with and which to ignore.  Many seem redundant and are splintering the finite number of people who can populate them.  I assume over time they will merge.  Forming, storming, and norming, as groups do.

I make my calls to legislators, send my emails, and post cards and watch the Media/Press do what they do so well -- dig, dig, dig.  In spite of 45*'s derisive name calling of them, his maneuvering to only include and speak to those conservative "alt-right" outlets that worship him, the tried and true and reliable news sources are doing their jobs.  It does my heart good.  I've always felt the Press is the bulwark of our democracy.  They are doing it again.  Rachel Maddow and her relentless tracking of the Russia connection, along with investigative reporting from the NY Times, Washington Post, the New Yorker and others may just bring the house down.  Waiting impatiently.
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ENOUGH.  The piano CD has ended and the teapot is empty.  The Outlander soundtrack has begun again on repeat and I need to plan which reruns of the TV show I will watch tonight.  So all ye lads and lassies, I bid you beannachd leat.

At least, that's the view from here...©

RISE UP -- AN ANTHEM FOR THE TIMES

I'm pretty proud of a new song and video released yesterday.  I have very little right to be; I only had a small part in making it real.

But remember in December I posted this https://myviewfromhere-donna.blogspot.com/2016/12/create-art-saves-lives.html   and talked about scribbling out some words and dashing them off to musician friends?  One of them took it and turned it into a song and video after reworking and adding to what I'd sent.  He then wrote the music and went into the studio alone, and then with other musicians, to record it.  Then, when it was ready, he created a video to go along with it and posted it on YouTube.

None of us involved in it are savvy enough to know how to market it effectively, so we are just sharing on Facebook and alerting a few friends who work in radio, TV, and newspapers, so, really it might just languish, which would be too bad.  He's worked hard and I think it is inspiration for the resistance!  Feel free to share widely if you like it....

And I hope you do.  Click here:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hTeyiuHPQz0

At least that's the view from here.... ©

CREATE: ART SAVES LIVES

I'm in one of my favorite places in all the world. (Well, I've only been to a teeny fraction of the world -- that which doesn't involve transatlantic flight, so there's that...but still a favorite place!)  I'm looking out the window on a quintessential Northwest scene with the sun breaking through to shine in warming my shoulder and I am content and happy and feeling deep, deep gratitude for my life.

Every year Hub and I come here for a three-day getaway to celebrate my December birthday and the holidays.  This town, Pt. Townsend, Washington, (Google it -- charming and historic) holds so many memories for us, even though the shops and restaurants change little from year to year and the gorgeous scenery not at all, thankfully.  It's been documented that Hub and I are creatures of habit and return again and again to familiar places we love.  We are "settlers" more than "explorers", I guess.  We have often talked of moving here and I still have a longing to do that and would in a heartbeat but for our sons and their families, especially the grandkids, and our friends who we see frequently and love like family.  A 2-1/2 hour drive-ferry crossing-drive from our current home would make being wth all of them an occasional event, not a multi-day of the week one.  We are tethered to where we live by love and commitment and gratitude.  We won't leave now.  But we come here annually for sure and often more frequently since summers here are glorious as well.

These three days have been a respite from the bustle of holiday prep at home and from the to-do lists that seem always to grow longer and never completed.  At home I wake up full of "gotta get going" energy with things to do, places to go, people to see competing for my time.  Here, in true vacation fashion, I wake up soaking in the creative energy that permeates the air here.  I wake up eager to stroll across the street to a waterfront coffee shop for my first cup, then to the waterfront restaurant on the other end of town that is our favorite for breakfast, then wandering in and out of boutiques and bookstores, home decor, garden, and toy shops.   We might stroll up the hill to "Uptown" to visit a cool grocery there where they sell the best cookies!  We go to the tea shop that has a comfy seating area where we plan our evening -- which of our favorite dinner places to hit before a movie at The Rose -- an old-fashioned movie theater in town.  If the weather is nice, not too windy, we might take a beach walk (and since Hub is reading this, I acknowledge that the weather doesn't hold him back and he just returned from a multi-mile walk while I hung out drinking coffee, so really HE'S the walker, not me, but there is always the possibility I might...)

One thing I haven't left behind is my FB newsfeed and I admit it's been a bummer to follow the ongoing debacle that is the political situation in our country.  I am more dejected and bereft with every Administration appointment and ridiculous Tweet from the minority-president-elect. (Hillary won 2.5 million more votes that he, so he's the "minority-president" forever after in my mind.)   What is happening is surreal -- his Cabinet appointments are gazillionaire business cronies or washed up politicians with no experience for the job.  They have vast conflicts of interest in every position.  It's a joke but it's not funny.  I've talked to so many friends who are still feeling their lives to be off-balance, and I am among them.  I feel like I'm just holding on to my own life, but what's happening around me threatens to pull me out of my reality at every turn.  People say they are going through the motions of their lives, trying to find islands of peace and hope, while also being buffeted by despair and outrage.  It's a schizophrenic experience.

Yesterday, at the coffee shop, I was inspired to write a "rhyming poem", something I never do unless I "hear" music that might apply to it.  I sent it off to two collaborators -- excellent musicians and great friends who have put my words to music and may end up on a couple of CDs one day soon (YAY!).   It was one of those moments where I looked out at Puget Sound and watched the ferry glide by, after having read news of Aleppo, Exxon, Standing Rock and an op ed by Charles Blow in the NYT (he's been a voice that speaks to me) about finding love and justice in the midst of terror and destruction -- of cities and of institutions.  The words floated into my head and out through my fingers on the keyboard organically, without thought or much editing.  I love when the Muse just takes over almost against my will.  The song lyrics I've written (few and far between) are almost always like that -- with the musicians doing the hard work of finding melodies to go with them.  I loved being in a creative groove, because I think art is necessary in a world gone awry.

I once bought a bumper sticker in this town in a shop that featured Native American Art.  It read: Art Saves Lives.  I put it on our old van and it traveled with us for many, many years -- inspiring me and maybe others who sat behind us in traffic, who knows?  Humans have the urge to create.  Find your special place, get quiet, indulge in pleasures that relax, and then do your art.  Whatever that is.  Sing, dance, paint, write, knit, sew, build, weld, cook, tell a joke.  BE.

The world needs us refreshed and ready to save lives, the earth, the future.

At least, that's the view from here....©

I AM A UU

I've been away for a few days.  Hub and I went to our faith tradition's annual General Assembly -- a nationwide gathering of Unitarian Universalists, this year in Portland, Oregon.  "Portlandia" is the perfect spot for UUs to gather.  Very progressive and PC and earnest -- and a little whimsical.

I love our Unitarian Universalist heritage.  The faith started out in the Judeo-Christian tradition but split with the Christian church around debates of doctrine.  Unitarians (formed in 1793) couldn't wrap their rational minds around the idea of a Trinity and believed instead that there is ONE God.  Jesus was a messenger, a prophet, a teacher, but not God in human form.  The Universalists (formed in 1825) couldn't wrap their loving hearts around a punishing God.  They saw God as a loving, saving, and unconditionally accepting force for good who would not condemn humanity to Hell, believing ultimately we are all saved by grace.  Both faiths were persecuted by the Christian church.  Yes, we have our imprisoned and executed martyrs who died for UU beliefs.  

There were Unitarian churches and Universalist churches for a long time, then in 1961 they merged and now we are the very big mouthful:  Unitarian Universalists.  Along the way the Humanists also played a defining role in the tradition and questioned whether we needed to bother with God at all and this is still a subject of some debate in the faith.  What we do all agree upon is that we draw inspiration and wisdom from many traditions and don't hold one above the rest.  We are all called to find a spiritual path that speaks to us; we are all called to social justice; we are all called to belonging in Beloved Community.  

I may have gotten some of this thumbnail sketch wrong -- UUs love to debate and disagree, so even my UU friends will likely read this and tell me..."Nope, that's not how I see it."  Well, so be it.  Plus I'm a "new" UU -- only 23 years into it (after drifting through the Methodists, the Lutherans, and the Congregationalists (UCC).  If you want to know more about UU, go to the source:  the Unitarian Universalist Association http://www.uua.org  Be sure to click on the Principles and Purposes  and Sources of our faith -- that's pretty much us in a nutshell.  http://www.uua.org/beliefs

Anyway, the UU-GA was something to experience.  Five thousand UUs gathered to worship, take care of business (we select delegates from each congregation to hammer out our bylaws and policies and elect boards, etc -- very democratic and messy), attend classes and workshops on a wide variety of topics, witness for social justice, and take inspiration from each other and an array of speakers who called us to action.  

UUs are known for our social justice work.  We are the organizers, protestors, and "speak truth to power" crowd who have historically supported a zillion progressive causes.  I thought more than once that if T-shirts could change the world, we'd be in fine shape at the General Assembly.  I also wondered why the T-shirt concession companies cannot make any other than those ill-fitting men's sizes crew neck T's with the baggy sleeves and boxy shapes that make everyone look like Sponge Bob Square Pants.  Not a good look.  Anyway, I took to jotting down some of the slogans I saw -- this is only a sampling:  

The Price of Peace is Economic Justice for All

Be the Change

Coffee Farmers Can't Live on Beans - Support Fair Trade

Co-Exist

Celebrate Diversity

Black Lives Matter

Standing on the Side of Love

Death Penalty Makes Us All Killers

Plant Justice - Harvest Peace

Nearly 1 Billion People Don't Have Clean Water

College of Social Justice

Corporations Are Not People

Love is Love  (in rainbow colors)

And, of course, every congregation seemed to have a T-shirt identifying themselves with their church name and city.

Looking around one might conclude these are just a bunch of aging hippies still tilting at windmills and not getting very far.  That would be wrong.  While the demographic at GA skewed a bit on the older side (we have the time and the means to go away to a conference for several days), there was also a large contingent of youth and young adults.  And all, to a person, has an abiding desire to see a better, more equitable world for all.  And we are willing to study, organize, and work for it.  We're known for being sorta smart and politically active.  Indeed, political action is paired with a spiritual (or, OK, humanist for some) ethic that demands no less of us.

Given that, you can imagine the Supreme Court ruling on Marriage Equality, in the midst of our gathering, was met with great jubilation.  UUs have worked for GLBT rights for decades.  A "win" for our GLBT friends is a win for all.  

Other justice issues were highlighted this year too.  On Saturday we held a huge public witness around climate change, with speakers from local Native American nations.  

Later we went to a reception where Rep. John Lewis, renowned for his civil rights work with Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., was interviewed. What an inspiration!  

And that same night the firebrand, outspoken, challenging, surprisingly funny, sincere, and insistent racial justice intellectual and activist Dr. Cornel West was the keynote speaker.  People were on their feet more than once, cheering his call to action.

Those were highlights for me.  And equally so were the enormous worship services full of creativity,music, and  inspiration.  UU congregations tend to be on the smaller side.  There are several big city congregations of several hundred, but most are not that big.  Ours has 160 members and we struggle sometimes to get people to step into leadership, sing in the choir, greet visitors, and set up coffee hour.  So, to gather with 5000 of our tradition, to sing the familiar hymns in unison with a choir of 200, to see a beautiful flaming chalice lit (the symbol of our faith) on a huge stage flanked by big screens where the proceedings were projected so that even those in the very back could see -- well, it was moving.  More than once I had tears in my eyes.

I'm glad I experienced General Assembly.  I came home with a renewed pride in my faith, a deeper appreciation for being part of a greater whole, a rekindled spark for activism, and the determination to work for T-shirt equality.  No more men's sizes for all people!  I know UUs eschew the materialistic, consumer-oriented culture and have little use for vanity or fashion, but c'mon, let's show a little consideration for body type diversity!

At least, that's the view from here...©

I'M WITH YOU...IN SPIRIT

I don't like feeling like a slacker.  I attended a Community Skills Fair on Saturday where amazing people are doing amazing things to address the sorry state of the Union as pertains to using up all of our natural resources, polluting our environment, concentrating most of our money with the fewest of our citizens, and selfishly consuming far beyond our means, or fairness, compared to the rest of the world.  It was sort of a bummer, but also hopeful because there are smart and creative folks doing what they can to address all of these woes.

I am a philosophical supporter of those who are working to improve our lot and I vote religiously for those who are trying to effect change from within, but lately I've not been very vocal, visible, or "activist".  By not very, let's say, really not at all.

So on Saturday, listening to keynote speaker David Korten (Yes! Magazine and books you can find on Amazon), touring the booths, and sitting in on workshops, I met up with a number of people I hadn't seen in years.  Sue, who I knew well when I was VP of the local National Organization for Women; Jim, who's living room hosted our monthly Physician's for Social Responsibility anti-nuclear weapons meetings; Jim and Sue who were tireless protestors with me, when I was chairperson of the group that petitioned for a citizen's advisory vote concerning building a Navy base in our town (and with it an aircraft carrier, powered by a nuclear reactor and chock full of nuclear weapons docked 1/2 mile from our neighborhood); even a couple of teachers who I knew from my many years trying to improve public education by serving as a parent representative on numerous school district committees.  I didn't see anyone from my 10 years working in the foster care system...but they were probably working themselves on Saturday since that is a 24/7 job oftentimes.

It was great to see everyone still doing the good work of earnest and focused activism.  And I felt a little guilty.  And I felt the stirrings of a little Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.  In 1973 I started working for the Equal Rights Amendment, my first foray into activism.  Since then, until about 18 months ago, I've been in leadership roles for a variety of "causes" and realized on Saturday that NOT doing that right now feels pretty damn good.  When I thought of some of my most activist years, I felt the familiar "doom and gloom" overwhelmed-ness and stress of trying so damn hard to change a sometimes unchangeable system doomed to recycle it's mistakes in a one step forward, two back pattern of discouragement.

Since I retired from social services in 2010 I've devoted myself to facilitating personal growth groups, leading dance movement experiences, writing and performing poetry, dabbling in collage art, attending to long-neglected household projects, traveling a bit, meditating, practicing Yoga, sleeping the whole night through, reading a book in the middle of the day, playing with my "grand", meeting friends for coffee....feeling like my life has meaning in many small and important ways that constantly surprise me.  I have time to think, breathe, be....not rushing, stressing, being overwhelmed, frustrated, and angry.

Is this selfish?  Gosh, I hope not.   What I hope, and some of my friends will read this as a "cop out", I'm sure, is that the slower pace of my life, the avenue I'm taking to help people grow in self-knowledge and self-care, will contribute to supporting in some way those who are called to  the front lines of activism.  Perhaps I can be an example of moderation, respite, and renewal.  I believe there are "seasons" of life and my "activist season" lasted for over 35 years.  I may not be finished yet; I may again join those on the picket line or in the Senate hearing room, but for now I am in the "season" of creative rest and renewal.  And I think that, too, is one way we can save ourselves.

At least, that's the view from here...©