Part II—Finding Joy and Meaning Despite External Political Landscape
Do you not want to get out of bed? Do you open your eyes and feel like you want to scream? Do you feel like you don’t have the bandwidth for all this quickly, unfolding gloom and doom news?
Last time in my Part I of how NOT to freak out during the broligarchy takeover, I encouraged you to practice self-care – try to get rest/sleep, water and good food. I encouraged you to practice grounding skills to calm your nervous system with your olfactory and tactile senses, taking deep breaths and feeling your feet hit the ground as you walk.
I talked about practicing acceptance of what is happening because we cannot control what is happening outside of ourselves. But I also encouraged you to connect with your Queen Warrior Self (or just Warrior Self or however you identify) and get into your fighting self, which is invigorating. I encouraged you to take some sort of action to channel your anger and to show your resistance (like call your reps in Congress). But sometimes, we just don’t feel like showing our resistance and that’s totally okay.
Today, in Part II, I want to talk about finding your joy and meaning in your life. Even as this despotic regime rises to power, we can choose to do what we want. We can choose to find the joy in our lives. After all, they can’t take away our singing and our dancing. I have compiled a list of ideas for finding your joy and making meaning. Each of the suggestions below are only suggestions. Some will not apply and some may. Take what you want and leave the rest!
Music Therapy: Singing, listening to music, dancing to music, playing a musical instrument, playing the bongo, writing a song, writing a poem, maybe turning said poem into a song or a rap, making a playlist and sharing it, playing a song at a loud volume while driving around with your windows down, belting it out. Here’s a good one to start with – F*ck You by Lily Allen. https://open.spotify.com/track/1GCbc1vpkZA2zhjsSFhmHT?si=KUQ6P_ViS0-cV6KGLp1Y-A
Art Therapy: Coloring, painting, drawing, sculpting, creating fashion (cut up some t-shirts, sweaters, make it punky, take a sharpie and maybe write “Resist” on your t-shirt) bake a pie, bake a funfetti cake, choreograph an interpretive dance, put on some black eyeliner and red lipstick, do some crafts, crochet a blanket, write a blog, write a letter to the editor.
Pet Therapy: Pet your cat, cuddle and give belly rubs to your dog, walk your dog, walk your cat, pet your bearded dragon, give your pet a treat, bath and/or groom your pet, take ussies of you and your pet and share with the world, play a game with your pet with a toy.
Socialization Therapy: Text your friends, call your friends/family/chosen family, do Facetimes, connect with others on social media, have friends over to your house, have friends spend the night for a sleepover, do facial masks together (even the guys), go see a rock show with your friends, go to an AA meeting, socialize at a political meeting like http://www.Indivisible.org, have a potluck with your neighbors, talk to your neighbors about supporting each other in the next four years.
Reading Therapy: Read some fiction, read some non-fiction, read something funny, read an article, read independent news on Substack, join a book club in person or virtually, read an article on tyranny (https://timothysnyder.org/on-tyranny), read, read, read for fun, read for education, go to the library, go to a coffee shop and read, listen to a book.
Film Therapy (and Streaming Shows): Stream an empowering show and/or watch movies. Watch something that stimulates you intellectually, or something that makes you laugh, or something that inspires you, or watch a documentary, or reality TV, or some historical true stories about people who stood up against the Nazis, such as “A Small Light,” which is about Miep Gies who hid Anne Frank and her family.
https://www.amazon.com/A-Small-Light-Season-1/dp/B0B8MCJLJF.
Or perhaps that’s a bit heavy right now, there’s also the inspiring “Self Made,” which is about Madame C.J. Walker, who was the first woman to make a million dollars running her own business. She was also a political and social activist and philanthropist in the early 1900’s.
And here are 75 strong female-led movies to check out too: https://www.harpersbazaar.com/culture/film-tv/g19037519/best-feminist-movies/
In summary, we can connect with music and art, connect with our pets, connect with friends/family/chosen family, connect with literature and film. All of these promote emotional healing and growth. We can choose to find our joy and make meaning in our lives despite this external political landscape.
Please feel free to suggest ideas and acts of joy that you do. Collective wisdom and engagement is encouraged!