I will eat the rotting persimmons
They're better than a Walmart parking lot
Hello friends,
I could have written a book over the past week had I taken the time or had the wherewithal to pull out my phone and add approximately 5,237 more half-finished notes, each one patiently awaiting its moment to transform into a full-fledged paragraph, unphased by sleepless nights and one too many glasses of wine.
I’ve consumed it all—the charts, the infographics, the who’s and what’s at fault, the reporting from seasoned vets at the NYT to writers on Substack who speak to their readers as if they were secret admirers granted permission to read their diary. I have my hot take on it all, but the fuel for that fire needs to be rationed because who knows what it will take to power through.
So I take long baths and long drags and sit with the things I don’t want to believe: White men with power really can do anything. Fancy lies are easier to believe than boring truths. White women care more about the price of bread than the very people who fought for their freedom. Le sigh.
I wonder if we realize the fight we have in front of us is the fight we’ve had all along? The loss and grief that has shaken us to the core isn’t new. What’s the point of fighting tooth and nail to end the genocides and the government control of our bodies and the corporate high-jacking of democracy and the systems that make the wealthy even wealthier when we believe that it will all work out because it always does?
Until it doesn’t.
I want to tell you that it will all be ok, that all you gotta do is put on that pink pussy hat and march it out! But we’re past that. Each of us will feel this to varying degrees, all in alignment with our power and privilege. Some will be relatively unscathed by this new administration, only mildly annoyed with the rising prices of iceberg lettuce and the new headphones they need so they don’t miss a word from their podcasts. Others will be violated in ways we’ll never fully comprehend until our grandchildren learn about it in school. The things that happened to “other people” and “never again” because we know better now.
What I do know is the sun still came out today and yes there was a wildfire with evacuations and then it rained and the smoke cleared, and oh, the chaos!
And no I cannot make this up.
Someday I’ll put all of my thoughts together, but for now, I’m baking a crumble from persimmons that were 50 cents each at the farmers market and nearly rotten but I refuse to waste them because it feels like it’s those times. I know I could just stop buying them but then what happens to the local farmers and the bread bakers and the egg collectors and makers and the artists and the small shop owners? Let me spend my last penny on them so that I don’t find myself wondering where they all went when I’m exhausted by life as I pull into the parking lot of a Walmart.
The words I did manage to get out, barely…
What I’m reading and watching…
10 ways to be prepared and grounded now that Trump has won: The key to taking effective action in a Trump world is to avoid perpetuating the autocrat’s goals of fear, isolation, exhaustion, and disorientation.
Exit Right: Trump has remade Americans, and to defeat Trumpism requires nothing less than the left doing the same.
Broken Bones: America’s Violent Indifference toward Women: A meditation on the realization that girls and women are fundamentally uncared for in this country.
An offering…
If you are feeling overwhelmed with all of the information and opinions coming at you from every direction, I get it. If you’re looking for a nourishing and sustainable and a fill-your-cup kind of experience, keep reading.
As I personally try to make sense of what happened, I find myself more drawn to imagining and creating a future for us that is just and joyful, rather than spending the next four years (but really, who knows how long) anxiously and furiously fighting Trump and his administration. I also do not want to overlook the very real people—the more than half of the United States voters—who chose a different way forward than what we believe, and how our intertwining lives must be cared for.
The work that is required of us moving forward is no different than the work that has been required of us in the past—protecting the rights and freedoms of women and the LGBTQIA+ community; ensuring the safety of women and children both near and far, whether they are immigrants facing forced deportation or Palestinians living through genocide; advocating for workers’s rights and addressing the massive income inequality we experience in the United States.
There is an incredible call to action and what I would like to offer you is a container to move through everything with grace with ease. A community of people who share your urgency and also support you in moving at your own pace. A network of resources to help you make the best decision on how and where you direct your energy.
The social change framework created by Deepa Iyer outlines a process for us that I believe honors where we are at and doesn’t ask us to sacrifice our health and well-being for the collective movement:
Grieve
Connect
Act
Reflect
Correct
REPEAT
While we all rightfully wallow in #1, I invite you to join me in #2 so that we can be best prepared for #3-6.
My monthly offering for paid subscribers will be rooted in this connection and in Deepa’s social change framework. All you need to do is show up with a commitment to creating a safe space, opening your head and heart to deep learning, and discovering how your innate gifts will support you in taking the small to big actions that feel good and ignite change.
Details for our first one-hour gathering:
Thursday, November 21st at 5:30 pm PST
Paid subscribers will be sent a link to register
This session will be gently facilitated and you do not need to prepare to attend — show up as yourself
The session will not be recorded
You do not need to be an activist (or even an aspiring activist) to attend. You might be someone who:
Wants tools on how to have difficult conversations with family members over the holidays.
Is a small business owner, freelancer, or creative and wants to find out how to use their skill and/or business as a tool of change and/or would benefit from learning what’s working and not working for other people as they navigate this and business in general.
Cannot spend hours scrolling on Instagram or filtering through the barrage of news around them but want to understand what’s going on in the world.
Feels compelled to do something but isn’t sure what that looks like yet.
Is really fucking tired and hungover from drinking wine out of a straw for six days and knows that being surrounded by amazing people is what they need to pull themselves out of their hole of despair.
I hope that you will join me next Thursday. We need each other. And the world needs us.
xxoo,
Jen Gurecki, she/her
PS: In addition to this monthly offering, I have three 30-minute 1:1 spots available for paid subscribers every month. Think of this time as complimentary coaching and/or consulting, knowing that I am most able to support small business owners, creatives, freelancers, and people who are looking to find their way in a world that doesn’t quite make sense to them anymore. Please email or DM me to book your spot.
We are not your secret admirers. We are open admirers. Just sayin.