Day 28: Air a grievance

Perhaps you're alarmed about the state of our nation, the lack of educated and intelligent media coverage, or maybe you can't find a grocery store with ripe avocados. Air a grievance, any grievance.

I've been discouraged all day - if it were true that your face freezes when you keep the same unnatural expression for too long, my brows would be forever furrowed into a look of abject despair and exhaustion.

This excellent NYT editorial details what the budget impasse is really about - abortion, healthcare and environmental protection. I think that's pretty true, but it's also about children who never learned to share their sandbox toys, who were inexplicably selected to run our country. It's about a broken two-party system that has removed all sense of logic from politics. It's about a media system so focused on incendiary rhetoric that it has personally elevated a man previously known for his combover to presidential candidate status... while simultaneously turning us into creatures who feel we can understand complex political and sociological issues via 30-second soundbites.

Meanwhile, most of us are truly on the same side here, right? Before you hit comment and say NO, stop and think a minute. Have you ever used birth control? Have you ever seen smog and worried that the planet you're leaving your children is not the same one into which you were born? Have you looked at Trump and thought, "Whack job"?

We're on the same team, people. It's just better for business to convince us that the issues are black and white, that being Christian and socially liberal are mutually exclusive, that you can't support global warming and wish for lower taxes. Rational thinking is no longer rewarded, and so the small differences we have, philosophically, with one another, are positioned as impassable schisms that will forever divide us.

It doesn't have to be like this. I can't believe that a country built on the intelligence and innovation of a group of rational thinkers in an irrational time can't now find a way to put a swift end to the outrageous smoke and mirrors show that our governmental system has become.

How do we fix it? I think it starts with intelligent discourse - find someone you disagree with, and don't leave until you've found some kind of common ground. Don't rely on the talking points you're hearing, but rather rethink what you know and why it is important to you. Try to leave with a better understanding of where they come from, what has affected their opinions and why that is important.

How we fix it, I think, is to treat one other like human beings instead of enemies. And then, to demand that our elected officials do the same.

Read More

Day six: sins of omission

When you blog, what's off limits? Why?

I personally hate trainwreck blogs - the ones written by overly emotional, filter-less people with lots of time on their hands. So when I'm writing, I try to steer clear of anything that might scream "Pay attention to what a victim I am!"

The truth is, this blog is the glossy version of my life - I have the world's greatest support system offline, and so I don't usually post when I'm struggling. The exception to this rule occurs when there's a shift in my personal life that will affect the narrative I've created here (what up, breakups!). I try to clarify quickly and move on.

So, to answer my own question, drama is off limits here at A Wooden Nickel. I don't think there's any way to appear dignified by blasting your personal life all over the internets. Some people don't have to be dignified, and can make a hell of a lot of money by airing their dirty laundry. I'm quite sure I don't want to be one of those people.

Read More

Body Integration, Action (Reverb10, Day 12 and 13)

December 12 – Body Integration
This year, when did you feel the most integrated with your body? Did you have a moment where there wasn’t mind and body, but simply a cohesive YOU, alive and present? (Author: Patrick Reynolds)

I've had a few great runs around Isles this year, though I can't remember specific details. As for losing sight of where my mind and body begin and end? Never going to happen. I'm hyper-cognizant. And that's okay.


December 13 – Action
When it comes to aspirations, it’s not about ideas. It’s about making ideas happen. What’s your next step? (Author: Scott Belsky)

______

Oh, Reverb. I don't think I am as bright and misty-eyed as you want me to be.

Anyway, I just made a lot of things happen. So much so, that I'm going to need some time to adjust and breathe before I set off on a new set of aspirations. For now, I am just thinking of ideas instead of making them happen. And that's also, okay.

Read More

One word (Reverb10, Day One)

Yeah, whatever, I'm back. It's quiet in the suburbs, y'all. I can't sleep here. I read everyone's Reverb10 entries and got mad jealous. So last night I wrote this even though I told myself I really couldn't blog for awhile. I'm fully aware of how lame my one-day exit fromt the blogosphere is. Moving on... Reverb10!! (Hands clapping excitedly)

December 1 One Word.
Encapsulate the year 2010 in one word. Explain why you’re choosing that word. Now, imagine it’s one year from today, what would you like the word to be that captures 2011 for you?
(Author: Gwen Bell)

__

In order to talk 2010, I have to remind you of the hell that was 2009. I started 2009 jobless, close to penniless, and living in my parents' house. So, that year was a complete reconstruction, the gathering of basics that I so needed.

2010 was about more - I added on to my life with reckless abandon. A new job meant more responsibility, and required more concentration. The job also gave me more flexibility in work hours, which I traded in for more duties as a dance coach. My first-ever freelance gig gave me more experience but also more sleepless nights. My new apartment and car gave me more bills. A new relationship gave me more support than I knew was possible, and now that it has ended I am filled with more gratitude than ever that we took a risk and then pulled out before it was too late. More homecomings, reunions, and trips reminded me that my web of friends has never been more full, and that it is in fact likely to keep growing.

2010 was about more but looking back, the mores are now too much. 2011, as I mentioned, will be about balance. Prioritizing the duties and tasks, and making time only for the people who matter. Blocking out the noise and remembering that a full life is one you have the time to enjoy.

Read More