We're only halfway through January and so far, Claudine Gay, the first Black woman to be president of Harvard, resigned, Kat Williams completely stole the internet's attention with all of his tea and the memes of Jonathan Majors leading up to and following MLK weekend continue. Over 20,000 Palestinians are dead in the ongoing bombing of civilians, women, and children. Some of the footage of people digging through rubble sends me back to the images of Haitians looking for loved ones after the earthquake in 2010 except this disaster is a manmade one.
There's so much to unpack. I open up any social media app and one minute I'm laughing, the other I'm crying. There is so much to feel and think about, so many things to run towards and retreat from all while dealing with the challenges of our personal lives whatever that might be. Right now, my most pressing issues are building my income and getting my blood sugar balanced enough that I can go at least a week without it being considered high. Every morning before I taste anything, I prick my finger, draw a drop of blood, and wait for the numbers. If you don't know, your blood sugar should be between 80 and 140 on average. I haven't seen those numbers in months.
It's easy to get overwhelmed in this world. It's maybe just as easy to pretend none of the atrocities in this world or problems in our lives are happening, especially when faced with the question, what can I do about it? It's not about asking the question though. It's about answering it. You could be sad about it, angry about it, frustrated with it but you're going to have to choose to do something or not.
This year, I hope we choose love more often. Not some sappy, rom-com type of love, well, maybe a little of that too but I'm talking about active, intentional, thoughtful love. The kind that is invested in the well-being of our communities and our whole selves. We don't have time for anything less than radical love. I hope it surrounds you today. I hope it beams from the depths of your chest. I hope it calls you to action. I hope it slows us all down from the fast pace, short attention span online hustle enough to see ourselves, and each other for real.
D. Colin || she/her
poet, visual artist, performer, educator, curator, coach
B. A. English, M.A. Africana Studies
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Such a heartfelt post and I can relate to so much! Here’s to making 2024 better.