May 2022

Remembrance restores possibility to the past, making what happened incomplete and completing what never was. Remembrance is neither what happened nor what did not happen but, rather, their potentialization, their becoming possible once again.

Giorgio Agamben

Waking up in the freezing cold, so cold that my boys refuse to come out of the tent, is an essential part of the camping experience.  You cannot take out the bad and expect to have only memorable moments.  It is getting up in the middle of the night to walk across the camp to get to the bathroom in the freezing dark, standing in the freezing cold to prepare breakfast for everyone, and listening to the whimper/whining of dogs or worse, my niblings and/or my mother, all of this so you can enjoy the hot tea in front of the fire, hike into new and unexplored mountains, and revel in the stars at night.  Chaos surrounds picture-perfect moments. We have to be willing to take the bad to enjoy the very moments that make us return to campgrounds where dozens of others also want to camp out.

This is all to say that our work in activism is filled with chaos, difficulties, frustrations, and more ugh but at the end of the day, we are participating in a movement that is meaningful for us and our communities.  Yes, we may work long hours and deal with headaches that may not be accompanied with big, fat paychecks or the title to make everyone jealous.  Yet we are living intentional lives that is more aligned with our vision for ourselves and our communities.  Is it worth it?  Well, why are you reading this newsletter and not reading an article about the stock market or the housing market?  Perhaps you are doing both.  But seriously, why are you interested or invested in social activism?  There is a tug, perhaps a force that is propelling you to live your life for a community.  This compelling energy is your passion, hoping and wanting to return to the campgrounds - lol. There is a reason why we are engaged in social justice and once in a while, we need to remind ourselves of the why so we do not become discouraged by the ever-present ugh.

I cannot count the number of times when I get so discouraged and disappointed with the progress of our programs that I don’t have the energy to work on my to-do list. And boy, do I have an extremely long to-do list but motivation and definitely inspiration is sometimes and somewhat lacking.  It is time to center, remember, and reflect so we can revive our passion.  It is the only way we can continue the work.