How are you?
Sincere question: How are you doing these days?
I ask because almost everyone I talk with is feeling overwhelmed. Putin’s war in Ukraine and his threats to use nuclear weapons, Trump and his henchmen’s (and henchwomen’s) ongoing threats to democracy, the upcoming midterm elections, the bizarre economy, the climate crisis and the natural disasters it’s spawning.
And much more.
It’s impossible to block all this out because we’re inevitably affected by it every day –from the prices we’re paying for gas and food, to neighbors and family members who repeat bonkers things they hear on Fox News, to weather that’s out of whack and sometimes menacing, to getting that new booster shot and making sure your loved ones do, too.
We also feel all this indirectly, through the anxieties and stresses experienced by those we love. They’re not immune to the chaos, either.
I like to think that you find my near daily messages helpful. Yes, they’re sometimes alarming or grim, but they’re written from a set of values that I think we share. I hope you receive them as if from a friend who gives you a tad more courage, assurance, and arguments about why those values are so important.
In times like these we also need to take care of each other, and of ourselves. It’s about sustenance — feeding our need to laugh and play, savoring the joy of connecting with those we love, dancing to music that literally moves us.
A year before my father died, shortly before his 102nd birthday, we took him to the local mall and parked him in his wheelchair just outside a drugstore for just a moment while we bought a few things. When we returned, he was out of his wheelchair, moving his body with perfect rhythm to the sound of Jimmy Dorsey’s 1930s big band, over the mall’s speakers. My father couldn’t speak and could barely see, but he had a broad grin across his face.
I hadn’t even noticed the music.
Today, amid all the anxiety and despair, I want to inspire you to hear the music. I guarantee it’s there.
Please take some time out to be moved.
How are you?
Thanks Robert for reaching out to your audience...very much appreciated. Not being an American and neither living in the US, I am a bit more distant from it all. However, living in the free West, whatever happens in US affects our lives to and what makes us stressed about American politics is that we have little or no influence over it but do have to deal with the consequences. Before December 2015 American politics generally was not a direct worry for me because America seemed to be able to self correct However when visiting friends in Texas around Xmas 2015 all this changed . Because our hosts wanted to see it, I got to attend a broadcast of one of the GOP presidential primaries...never having heard of him before, it was the first time I heard Trump speaking........ cold chills went through my spine when I heard him speaking. However what was even worse was the enthusiast response to him by of the audience in the room, most of them people I had known for years, worked with all over the world ......and even worse it was fuelled by hatred against Democrats in general, and more particular, a black president. I thought I knew these people but how wrong was I. I remember telling my wife that Trump would be bad for America and us but that he had a good chance to win. Of course we all know the outcome and the how it affected and still does affect the world......In my perception it has gotten even worse since he was voted out and despite Biden' efforts. I find it impossible to grasp what is happening. Is the current reality in the US so bad that people prefer to be deceived by bullies, cheaters and fascists rather than tackle the problems together? I guess November will tell us but if one elects cheaters and bullies into government, don't be surprised if one gets cheated and bullied. In the mean time, I am focussing on where possible getting less dependent of what is happening in America, which is not that easy to be fair......
I'm binge-watching NCIS and thousands of British murder mysteries to maintain a modicum of sanity. I don't watch Network television I don't watch the news. I do read your morning report and I read the Palmer report and the NPR newsletter and the Guardian report every morning. And that is enough news. I read a Poem a Day and I write short rom-coms which are often staged hither and thither. My husband is getting older and more and more disabled so we try to just sit out in our tiny back deck and look up into our beautiful oak tree every day. We send a little money to the six most flippable Senate races. This midterm election is the most important one in our lifetime. We are managing pretty well in these perilous times. Thanks for all you do.