Eleven is not heaven

e

— 9 min read
Eleven is not heaven
[Photo of a tree and large rock amidst many trees and bushes in Brigid's Garden in County Galway, Ireland.]
Hope is a discipline. - Mariame Kaba

Good morning, beautiful humans, 

The dark, cold, and more solitary nature of this time of year has always been difficult for me. Then, a few years before I moved to Ohio, I realized that there are a number of celebrations around this time of year that have been around for centuries and millennia and at the center of them is light, transformation, letting go, and the coming spring. (Thank goodness because however dark it feels in Jersey, it’s way darker in Ohio - and I don’t just mean metaphorically. There is just less sun there, especially in the winter.)

Lunar New Year is celebrated around the world, and it is also referred to as Spring Festival. Find a way to take part, it is sure to lift your spirits. Then there is this group of celebrations that are all connected and are focused on the returning light to the world:

  • Imbolc: It is the midpoint between the winter solstice and spring equinox, and also is connected to the goddess Brigid who is associated with nature, poetry, and healing (though there is evidence that she may have actually come after the saint). Building a fire or lighting candles is part of the celebration of this day.
  • Feast Day of St. Brigid: St. Brigid is one of the patron saints of Ireland, my favorite saint, and a pretty badass real woman from the first half of the first century CE.* Her feast day is the same as the ancient Celtic celebration of Imbolc (not a coincidence). She is associated with poetry, nature, caretaker/healer, uplifter of the vulnerable, human and nonhuman. There is a perpetual flame at her shrine in County Kildare.
  • Candlemas or Feast of the Presentation of Jesus Christ, the Feast of the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary: This is a festival marking the return of Christ’s light to the world.
  • Groundhog Day - Not just an awesome movie but also a holiday that relies on light - will the groundhog see his shadow? [Just in case your curious: Punxsutawney Phil (PA) saw his shadow, so six more weeks of winter. But it was cloudy when Buckeye Chuck (OH) came out of his burrow to cloudy skies, so no shadow - spring is just around the corner. (I guess the lack of sun in Ohio can be helpful sometimes.)]

You may be wondering - Elizabeth, why the hell are you talking about random holidays and light and fire. But maybe not. You may have a sense of why. 

We are in a deep darkness beyond what comes with winter.

We are in the midst of an active coup. You can call it a soft or administrative coup (without the use of violence and based on a conspiracy or plot that has as its objective the taking of the state power by partially or wholly illegal means) or a self coup (leader comes to power through legal means and then seizes power from other government branches). Doesn’t really matter, it is a coup. Here’s some information from Choose Democracy that lists the reason to look at this like a coup. (https://choosedemocracy.us/what-is-an-administrative-coup/)

In addition to reaching for power, this coup is targeting people who are marginalized, with a hyper focus on immigrants and trans folks right now. Along with eradicating DEI programs, they will focus on people who benefit from those programs, which seems to mean anyone who is not a white, cisgender, straight, non-disabled man. Just in case you're wondering, that is most of us. For those of us with privilege that protects us for the moment, you know the poem. We ignore what is happening and don't try to stop it at our peril.

This is scary. As I’ve talked about before, “It is okay to be scared; it's probably a bit crazy to not be scared. The danger comes when we let being scared turn into fear and let that control us. Being controlled by fear shuts down everything. We do not make good decisions, and we can cause significant harm. We often need each other to help us from letting being scared turn into fear.” 

Fear is darkness added to dark times. We counter darkness with light.

As Madeline L’Engle wrote: “Like it or not, we either add to the darkness of indifference and out-and-out evil which surrounds us or we light a candle to see by.” For each other, for ourselves, for our world. 

Everyone is different, and there are many different ways to light a candle.

I'm going to start with something that is not required to light a candle. You do not need to immerse yourself in social media or news, knowing everything that is going on. That’s likely going to paralyze you. Find good sources - people you know, newsletters (especially since mainstream news is virtually worthless at the moment) - so you have a sense of what is happening or can find out something if you need to. I'll put some resources for news/info at the end if you're interested.

OK, What follows are some ideas to help light candles in this darkness. These are foundational things that we can do with each other. These are forms of resistance in and of themselves - they are a counter to the hatred and desire for oppression and domination we are facing.

First, try to keep from losing your shit. This requires you to take care of yourself, allow yourself to be cared for by others. What helps you stay grounded? Take rest when you need it. Drink water. Take some time to pause and really come up with a basic outline of how you are going to do this. Don’t get lost in the weeds. Come up with a mantra. There are some below. We can do hard things, especially together.

Mariame Kaba - if you don’t know who she is, look her up - posted her daily mantra recently, “Prioritize, Lessen Suffering, Stay Grounded.” 

Zen Peacemakers has Three Tenets: Bearing Witness, Not Knowing, Taking Action. 

Second, let go. Your job isn’t to solve everything. In fact, you cannot. Despite what you have been told, you are not a superhero. You can do what you can do. I do what I can do. What we can do is necessary, and it actually is a lot. Seriously, if everyone did what they could do, we could create something so beautiful in response to this horror show.

Third, connect with others. If those bent on destruction can isolate us from each other, it will be much easier for them to continue the destruction. Ideally, connect with folks in your community. Staying connected locally can help focus and minimize the overwhelm. We have to minimize the overwhelm. There are mutual aid groups around you. There are local groups - connect with them in person or virtually.

Just be with people - have friends and family over for dinner, meet someone for coffee, go for a walk. We need each other. 

There are two things happening on a national level this week that some of you might be interested in. I'll put them at the end.

Fourth, support those who are vulnerable; support each other. There are SO MANY WAYS to do this!!! If you need help figuring this out, I’m happy to help.

Fifth, listen. When supporting people, listen to those who are most impacted and to those with experience doing the work. Those who are part of groups who have been marginalized and oppressed for centuries by this country or others know a thing or two about resistance. I know you all are smart people here, but you are not an expert on most of the things that we are currently facing. Teamwork makes the dream work. 

Sixth, hold yourself and others accountable. Right now our political leaders are seriously failing this moment. Hold them accountable. Call them. Insist they stop this coup. Tell them to stop confirming the appointees (Corey Booker, I’m looking at you.) Phone calls matter. Staffers get more than 20 calls on a particular issue and they start paying attention. Flood them with calls. 

In times like this, we can do messed up stuff because of the fear and overwhelm. Let’s do our best not to do that. But if we do, just own it. You have to own your shit. And we have to give each other some grace when we inevitably screw up.

Seventh, do not look away; bear witness. Denial and avoidance will ultimately harm you, those around you, and the greater movement to stop this and create something different. Don’t think so much about what you can’t do. Think about what you can do. 

And, when you are confronted with the pain of someone else, bear witness. We often look away because we cannot do something, we are uncomfortable, we are overwhelmed by the suffering. Do not look away. Look, not as a voyeur but in solidarity. It is excruciating when people look away from our pain, no matter the reason. I was a chaplain in a children’s hospital. I sat with people as their children were dying. There was not one single thing I could do to stop their world from falling apart, but I could be with them and it made a difference.

We don’t need to hold everyone’s suffering (and should not), but we need to face it and look with clear loving eyes when we do see it.

Eighth, see the light, the joy, and the beauty that exists in this world. There is so much. Engage with it - create art, move your body, be in nature. Celebrate it. Celebrate each other. 

Also celebrate the incredible beauty in the people who are resisting the power grab - go Chicago! protecting neighbors from ICE; federal workers who are leaking memos and otherwise standing up to this coup; attorneys and judges seeking to stop the illegal moves of the Executive Orders; independent journalists telling us what is happening; folks gathering together to see how they can support each other and those who are vulnerable; Canada and other nations standing up to Trump. 

Ninth, love. Not a passive love or, as my kid used to call it, the "kissy kind." Love is fierce. As bell hooks wrote about it, it is an action rather than a feeling, openly and honestly expressing care, affection, responsibility, commitment, knowledge, respect and trust. Love requires being fully present as often as possible. Love for ourselves is building inner strength to deal with the challenges of life, seeing the beauty in our world, and recognizing our interconnectedness. Love for others is supporting them in the ways that they need (but not at our own expense). Love is life. It is where we come from. It is what sustains us.

Our responsibility is to each other, to support each other, and allow others to support us.

We are not the first people to face this. We are capable of lighting the candles and the bonfires we need to move us through this darkness. Who knows, perhaps, we create something beautiful in the process?

You are loved. You are not alone. 

e

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Perhaps the World Ends Here, Joy Harjo

The world begins at a kitchen table. No matter what, we must eat to live.

The gifts of earth are brought and prepared, set on the table. So it has been
since creation, and it will go on.

We chase chickens or dogs away from it. Babies teethe at the corners. They
scrape their knees under it.

It is here that children are given instructions on what it means to be human.
We make men at it, we make women.

At this table we gossip, recall enemies and the ghosts of lovers.

Our dreams drink coffee with us as they put their arms around our children.
They laugh with us at our poor falling-down selves and as we put
ourselves back together once again at the table.

This table has been a house in the rain, an umbrella in the sun.

Wars have begun and ended at this table. It is a place to hide in the shadow
of terror. A place to celebrate the terrible victory.

We have given birth on this table, and have prepared our parents for burial
here.

At this table we sing with joy, with sorrow. We pray of suffering and remorse.
We give thanks.

Perhaps the world will end at the kitchen table, while we are laughing and
crying, eating of the last sweet bite.

National Opportunities
TONIGHT (Sunday, 2/2) at 8pm

Movement leaders from across the country as they give us their best strategic guidance on how to take action against the Trump funding freezes

https://www.mobilize.us/indivisible/event/752072/

WEDNESDAY, February 5 starting at noon but going all day at state capitals across the country

50501 - 50 protestors, 50 states, 1 day 

https://www.reddit.com/r/50501/ you can look to the right for your state. 

News/Info Sources

Here are some news/info resources if you're looking. These are human beings putting themselves out there. If you use them, pay for them if you can. Hopefully, you're saving money by not paying for mainstream media. Redirect that here.

*Brigid

Do you remember ages ago when I was telling you about St. Brigid. Well, the abbess of Kildare was a real person, and she was amazing. One of the miracles that got her into sainthood was helping a young nun "who lapsed through weakness into youthful concupiscence," became pregnant, went to Brigid and "what had been conceived in the womb disappeared.” One of the acts that got Brigit into sainthood was terminating a pregnancy for a young woman who did not want to be pregnant. Many abortion support networks around have Brigid in the name.

Here two writings if you need some inspiration or you want to know more about this radical nun.

https://newlinesmag.com/essays/brigid-irelands-antiestablishment-saint/

https://www.rte.ie/brainstorm/2025/0127/1349669-st-brigid-kildare-ireland-evidence-identity/

[originally written 2.2.2025]

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