"Do You Remember?
That time and light
are kinds of love" --Tony Hoagland
"Time and Lights are Kinds of Love"
I saw a social media post the other day in which a woman was responding to people asking her what we can do at this time of incredible chaos, mean-spiritedness and the apparent dismantling of democracy and the American Experiment. Her answer was to journal. Write it all down. Be the firsthand witness to everything that’s going on because regardless of outcome, generations from now, people will be writing history books about whatever it is we’re going through right now, in these days, and firsthand accounts will be crucial.
Especially since history is written by the victors. It’s not unreasonable to think that our version of events, our experiences of watching our fellow humans lose their rights, lose their livelihoods, lose their humanity, will be erased from the official narrative that ends up in the history books. At this moment, it doesn’t seem crazy to fear that our hopes for peace, synergy, co-creation, harmony, and a positive, inclusive future for humanity will be erased because it doesn’t align with how the authoritarians see their mission and their version of events.
What a weird dystopia we find ourselves in. I still firmly believe that the shock and horror of whatever is in store for us collectively will give way to something better. People will wake up and realize that we really are all in this together, that we need each other and that we owe each other kindness, compassion, community, and mutual care. And we will take that awareness, and we will build systems that incorporate those beliefs into their very fabric so that our new societies will be built on love and cooperation rather than dominance and greed. That’s the vision that keeps me from falling into despair.
And in the meantime, we have Mr Hoagland (in the quote above) reminding us to remember that “time and light are kinds of love.” We have the poets, and the artists and the gardeners and musicians, the creatives in society and the creative impulse within each of us holding up a lantern to show the way, one step, one day at a time. Keep going, Keep writing. Keep creating. Keep caring. And with all that you have within you, hold your fellow humans in love. Hold the Earth in love, hold ourselves in love because ultimately, that’s really all that matters.