Hope going into the dark
The wisdom of Rebecca Solnit
Is this the last weekend of an era? What new day will Monday bring? We don’t know.
Today I found myself returning to some of the wisdom we have featured here from the brilliant and thoughtful Rebecca Solnit, and I wanted to share it with you as well.
We also encourage you to visit her Facebook page and her books, and revisit the conversations we’ve had with her this year.
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By Rebecca Solnit
They want you to feel powerless and to surrender and to let them trample everything and you are not going to let them. You are not giving up, and neither am I. The fact that we cannot save everything does not mean we cannot save anything and everything we can save is worth saving. You may need to grieve or scream or take time off, but you have a role no matter what, and right now good friends and good principles are worth gathering in. Remember what you love. Remember what loves you. Remember in this tide of hate what love is. The pain you feel is because of what you love.
The Wobblies used to say don't mourn, organize, but you can do both at once and you don't have to organize right away in this moment of furious mourning. You can be heartbroken or furious or both at once; you can scream in your car or on a cliff; you can also get up tomorrow and water the flowerpots and call someone who's upset and check your equipment for going onward. A lot of us are going to come under direct attack, and a lot of us are going to resist by building solidarity and sanctuary. Gather up your resources, the metaphysical ones that are heart and soul and care, as well as the practical ones.
People kept the faith in the dictatorships of South America in the 1970s and 1980s, in the East Bloc countries and the USSR, women are protesting right now in Iran and people there are writing poetry. There is no alternative to persevering, and that does not require you to feel good. You can keep walking whether it's sunny or raining. Take care of yourself and remember that taking care of something else is an important part of taking care of yourself, because you are interwoven with the ten trillion things in this single garment of destiny that has been stained and torn, but is still being woven and mended and washed.
We encourage you to read Rebecca Solnit’s Hope in the Dark. And to stay hopeful.
Thank you, Anand. I think we all need a pep talk
Hope flickers but never dies when we keep feeding its flame. Solnit provides fuel for those flames. Solnit’s sayings should be themes for weekly essays. For example (as edited):
1. Don't let them win by making you feel helpless. Even when we can't fix everything, saving what we can matters.
2. We're all connected in this messy but beautiful world that's constantly being rebuilt and repaired
3. Throughout history, people have kept hope alive under the worst conditions – in dictatorships, under oppression, and in dark times.
You don't have to feel positive to keep going. Just take one step at a time.
4. It's okay to feel hurt or angry – take the time you need. Remember what matters to you and who cares about you.
5. The pain you feel shows how much you care. You can be both sad and ready to act but don't feel pressured to jump into action right away if you're grieving
.Help others and prepare for what's ahead. Helping others is a way of helping yourself
6. Build connections with people who share your values