I got off a meeting to find out there is an active shooter at my almost (first) alma mater – Michigan State University. Right now, as I write this, campus police are going room by room looking for the gunman, who is on foot. And, now, as I edit this, he is reported dead.

The live updates and the vague image of the person remind me of Fahrenheit 451, where they are just looking for their suspect to claim all is safe. But, nothing will be safe until we do the deep work to get ourselves clean. We need to clean up our minds, our spirits, and our bodies.

This was on the heels of what should have been a nice meeting where a nice person scolded me on (false) improper protocol over and over and over. Another noted, they are probably under extreme stress and just taking it out on you. 

This was on the heels of gathering, for the second time, with a group of people who want to change the narrative we are currently living under. We want messaging that matters that speaks to our values, and likely yours too. So, we are meeting to try and figure it out.

This was on the heels of quickly putting dinner together after my job-job so that I could attend what should have been two nice, normal meetings. 

This was on the heels of speaking with a coworker about how you truly interrupt oppression, no matter where you find it, because damn it, we want the world to be a better place, and these shams of capitalism and racism and sexism need to end – now. 

Which followed a day of endless zooms that involved planning, strategizing, and dreaming – with the idea that we can make a difference, our voices matter, the people we work with – their voices matter. Their stories deserve to be told, respected, and the systems that are not serving them (serving us) need to change. 

Which was built on dropping my kid and another off to school, spit between cocoa to accommodate a late start. 

Which was layered on not having enough sleep the night before. 

The zodiac picture tells a story I am not trained to read, but the influences look pulled and vast across. 

There is so much hardship in the world. We have created the world to be hard. We engage in the world in a hard way. 

I believe we deserve a world that is more easeful. That gives people space to process their stress and heal through their trauma. I believe we deserve to be in a world where our basic needs are met, so those aren’t the added stressors that will push us over when something else unexpected and unfair happens. I believe we all deserve a soft place to land and to be surrounded by love. 

If you share any of these beliefs, how will you show up in the world this week?