These are long days in what has been a long year and even longer four years.
I've been working on an essay that I started writing in January of 2017. Later I realized it lined up pretty well with some of the stories in Patti Smith's Year of the Monkey, and suddenly I felt less alone in the world. It also helped me remember more of the bigger picture that was reality at that time.
So much has changed for my family since then. Some of these changes have been and continue to be very difficult to go through. Somehow we find the strength to see past the storm though and I am not even sure how.
Tonight, this slow Sunday night, marks the end of the holiday weekend and I wish that it didn't. I wish that we could allow a total slowdown this time of year and allow everyone to simply enjoy friends and family and not work so much. Honestly why do we work so much? It really isn't necessary.
I just saw an article that teachers lives are in danger if they are forced to keep teaching during a pandemic and that consequently Illinois may face a teacher shortage (and likely other places as well). I mean come on. What does it take for us to press pause on forward production mode, all forces go, capitalism 100% throttle all the time? We are obsessed and addicted to work. Even in the middle of a life threatening pandemic.
Just stop. Slow down. Take a break. The more each of us claim a little more time and space for what is truly important, the easier it becomes for others to do so as well. Don't get me wrong, I realize some folks need to work to survive. Ideally, we would have the federal level leadership we need right now so that nobody would have to risk their life to work and survive. But for the folks who don't need to work so hard right now yet all forces go -- please just knock it off. You are making everything much harder for everyone else. People need to rest.
Slow down. Rest. Read. Recover. Be at peace with a slower rhythm of existence. It will prove to be the fighting chance we need to all get through this.
