Today I read news, both positive election results (well done!!!) and the sadness and resignation of friends who are out of options, recognizing they can no longer afford health insurance, which means they can no longer afford to see their doctors, pay for their prescriptions, or maintain any illusion that they have a safety net for the inevitable expenses of health care due to the for-profit nature of medical care in the United States.
Photo of a sunset over the boardwalk by Jamie Feinberg
People share their best tips for eating on a budget and making due if food stamps are cut or gone.
Politicians on the wrong side of history pledge to publish people who stood up for themselves and used their power in NYC and elsewhere.
The United States is no longer just a country living under the threat of daily gun violence in schools and other community gathering places. It is also a country at war with itself, destroying any sense of safety and community and any illusions its children and others had.
Those who followed the rules aren’t safe. No one is safe, though the lightness of your skin can help.
I exchange stories with friends who are socking away food for the winter, like squirrels and chipmunks, unsure what the winter has in store or how it will end.
In one hand, I hold gratitude for my amazing family, friends, and neighbors. I work to stay present to the textures my hands touch, to the warmth of a hug, to the creaminess of the oat milk in my coffee. In the other hand, I work to break free of the inner critic, telling me I am not doing enough, and the sometimes paralyzing anxiety about where we are headed and what could be next.
I sit here, warm under blankets and a cat who adopted us in Florida ( once a fun and affordable home for our RV, now a place we’re not sure we’ll ever return to again).
I remember that whatever our own health challenges are, whatever our own financial struggles may be, we are extraordinarily grateful to be in Canada, to be here, right now.
As you write your own poems, remember the joy. I hope you can find the moments of calm, the moments of love, the moments of beauty. I hope you never give up and that you never give in.
You are worthy. And I will do what I can to support you. Love your neighbors, friends.
When mind games are kicking in and you’d like support learningto control your thoughts and stop the self-sabotage, take a saboteur assessment.
Crafting The Life You Want: A Practice in Living 