reach toward the light(bulb)
what resistance looks like 💃🏻💰 + 7 writing prompts to stimulate your limbic system (the happiness part of your brain) ++ a delicious granola recipe, because why not?
hey-ho!
Don’t forget, the Republican Party is happiest when you are not. It’s worth repeating, the Republican Party is happiest when you are not. Sorrow and depression lead to inaction, upon which they thrive. Romance your own joy. Reach toward the light(bulb). Screw the coup. Please, do not let them rob you off your vibrant, beautiful life.
For uplifting news, read Scott Dworkin and this post from Robert Reich. Check a protest through dance in front of the Kennedy Center. And, please continue to be active in the resistance.
Call congress everyday:
Protest w/your wallet:
If you’ve been a victim of the current “administration” through being fired from your government job, or seen someone you love swept up in an ICE raid, or been denied essential healthcare, please reach out to me. I would like to include your story in future newsletters. We need to hear your story. You matter.
Thank you paid subscribers!
If you’re a free subscriber maybe you’re looking for a way to say merci for this spot-of-sunshine in your inbox, it’s easy, become a paid subscriber. I’d love that for both of us!
write:
“Mind makes heaven hell.”
This was the admonition and nudge from dear and smart Karen Karbo at my recent Writers’ Spa Day. 16 writers descended upon my home, we talked writing nuts and bolts, we ate good food, (thanks to the wonderful chef, Alison Wonderland Tucker) we wrote and wrote some more, and then shared our work. To Karen’s point, here we were, being creative, enjoying one another’s company, laughing, and well, reaching for the light(bulb). We did not turn our day of heaven into hell by dwelling on the current situation. First thing upon meeting we wrote on scratch paper our fears and concerns for the world, for our families, friends, and ourselves. We crumbled them up and tossed them in a makeshift cauldron. At the close of the day, we struck a match and raised a glass.
“Clean water, clean air, good medicine, good friends, fuck trump.”
I invite you to carve time out. Give yourself a reprieve from worry and anger. Pour a beverage of choice. Put on some good instrumental music, comfy pants … and here are 7 prompts to start you off:
Write for five minutes from the point of view of an inanimate object who is disappointed in you. Could be the guitar you never play, the wilting plant, the moldering laundry forgotten in the washer. (These all ring so true to me…)
Three drafts:
#1 for five minutes write a scene with people standing in line at the market, to get into a concert, at the DMV, somewhere. Two of the people are having a whisper-fight, a third person, a stranger, butts in. Focus on dialogue.
#2 same scene, focus on body language, gestures, and setting.
#3 again, the same scene, focus on an emotional shift. Does the scene start with one emotion and end with another? And, does someone “win” the conversation?From my smart and funny friend Jennifer Louden: Cancel Amazon Prime and take the survey explaining why you canceled. You’ll be offered several places to reveal your reasons. How many words rhyme with Bezos? Myself, I like Sleazos! Now I bend to Amazon no more. 😝 Have a rant — you’ll feel better. +++ you’ll have canceled Amazon Prime! 👍🏽
(More great prompts and excellent granola behind the dreaded paywall! Hope you join us. xoN)