When the slog will be long

I spent today unwinding, catching up on life administration, meditating, knitting, and thinking. The thinking was meandering, creative, and constructive. Confronting the state of law, politics, and government in the U.S. is going to call for more days like this. It can be very hard to slow down and introspect in the face of the cataclysm the country now faces. It can feel like one must always be doing something on a larger scale, either specifically about the political and legal dangers or at least to distract oneself from them. Contemplation and a quiet pace can seem like they will only create room for fear, anxiety, disgust, and horror. Taking time for stillness and thought can seem unresponsive to the pressing need to help the country.

What I am sure of, though, is that inner strength and great imagination will be necessary to the fortitude and ingenuity that it will take to fix the country and help those most immediately suffering its brokenness. These projects will be ongoing for years, probably decades. There will be days and months when we will be agitating, campaigning, and otherwise operating at a rapid clip. But effectiveness at that pace depends upon underlying wells of deliberation and upon reserves of toughness.

Yesterday, I wrote about practicing courage. Now, I’m talking about cultivating habits of relaxed reflection. The common thread here is the need for different or redefined virtues and patterns now. To change the country, we have to reorient ourselves. We must develop in ourselves the traits, capacities, and routines of long-term workers in the cause of defeating Republican Fascism.

To be continued….