Saturday, November 12, 2016

Getting Out of My Head

I've taken some action, which makes me feel a little better. I finished sending money to all the news organizations I'd identified to send money to. Some of them got more than I initially planned, which maybe makes up a bit for my delay in finishing that task.

I haven't started making donations yet, because I want to think and do some research to figure out where to send my money.  For instance, I only learned about the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee today, and I think I'll end up giving to them. I need to do some research. I've also seen the people posting that they've donated to Planned Parenthood in Mike Pence's name. I'm thinking my eventual donation to the ACLU will be in the name of Paul Ryan or Mitch McConnell, hoping to remind them that their duty is to the country and the Constitution, not their party. I don't expect them to change their political beliefs and not try to repeal Obamacare or anything like that. But I do expect them to speak up to denounce racist intimidation of people.

I also want to find ways to use my time, too. One thing I plan to do is write letters to Congressional leaders asking them to repudiate the increase in hate speech and racist attacks. My own elected leaders have already done this, but I expect our national leaders to do so as well. This should not be controversial. They should have no fear in saying something like "Swastikas are symbols of hatred, and have no place in our country." I'd like to remind them of that. I'll let you know if I get any responses.

Beyond that, I haven't decided what to do. I'd like to volunteer with a group, but haven't figured out which one.

But mostly, I've been thinking about how I'm going to get out of my head a bit, so that I can sleep better and eat better again. Tonight's dinner was the first meal that really tasted good since Tuesday night. I keep waking up earlier than normal, remembering what we've done to our country, and starting to cry. Obviously, I need to get a grip.

So today, I started to make a plan to get out of my head. I spent some time reading. I finished the sleeping bag I have been making for Petunia's teddy bear. I took my daughter to one of our favorite parks by Mission Bay and spent some time staring at the water and the birds.

I also realized I have been remiss in telling you guys about a couple of publishing related things:

I can vouch for how nice it is to escape into a good book, so check those out!

Also, I keep recommending the novella An Etiquette Guide for the End Times, by Maia Sepp. It is not one of the books I've published, but it is lot of fun, and might give you some comfort about getting through the end times.

What are you "get a grip" recommendations? Good escapist books to read? Tell me in the comments, or talk about whatever you want, really.

3 comments:

  1. Elizabeth Cole's zodiac series. I'm almost recovered enough to push forward and feeling terrible about how selfish I'm being with my anxiety when I am someone with privilege to change things. But this anxiety is scary because I haven't been able to control it even with CBT training. So I've read maybe a dozen romance novels just to get the mental ticker tape to stop. And lots of anime music.

    I've always been taught that I have God given gifts and because of that it is my duty to make the world a better place. My sister and parents have been out volunteering and protesting. I've given some money, but it is time for me to do more. Starting, like you say, with writing letters to politicians.

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    1. I think one advantage of our long transition period is that it gives us time to take the time we need to get ourselves centered before we really have to act.

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  2. I've made a LONG list of places that fight for rights that will be threatened by this administration: CCR, CRR (which I'm told does a LOT of good legal work but doesn't get the kind of funding that Planned Parenthood gets, Lambda Legal, SPLC, ACLU). Because of time and health constraints, it's more possible for me to do good by giving what I can muster and work on earning more in order to give, then to try and be out and protesting.

    I've been taking much longer walks than usual with Seamus, forcing myself to inhale deeply and exhale slowly, so that my body is getting fresh air and exercise, especially when I wake up horrified anew at what's going on.

    I started reading Kate Elliott recently and taking more time to hug my family as much as I can - this fight is as much for the world they live in as it is mine and I never want to lose sight of how important they are even when I'm covered in anxiety and distracted by worry.

    I'm so glad that we do have people like you and N&M on our side too.

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