Okay, so I’ve had to say this to at least three separate people in the last 24 hours; I’m thinking maybe some of you might need to hear it as well, my beloveds.
We are in the second year of a worldwide pandemic and have largely been betrayed by our governments. The earth itself is frying. Rich people and their corporations are squeezing us, intent on murderous profit.
The problem is not YOU, my beloved.
Try to consider that the problem might be that you’re trying to deal with things we should never have to face. Try to consider that all in all, we’re doing pretty well, considering what we’re dealing with.
The inability to focus, the protests of our bodies pushed past human limits by the stress of pandemic, fascism, governmental malpractice and corporate malfeasance? Might not be your personal fault, you know.
Listen to me and do not despair.
You—and your precious, perishable human body—are both doing the best you can.
Just consider that maybe, MAYBE, you’re not the problem. I know we tend to take on responsibility, I know we’ve been trained into that by the toxic weight of late-stage capitalism.
Maybe consider that the world is a bit mad, and your reaction is entirely reasonable.
Look at all the other people struggling and suffering around you. It doesn’t have to be like this, but some predatory, greedy assholes have decided it suits them for it to be.
Maybe, just maybe, YOU…
Again, I’ve had to say this to more than one person in the past 24hrs. So if you need to hear it, here it is: Maybe YOU’RE not the problem. Maybe what you’re feeling is an entirely reasonable reaction to an unreasonable situation.
The pandemic isn’t over, despite what corporate profitmongers want us to believe. The authoritarians are busily working to oppress whoever and however they can. The earth is cooking under the assault of corporate greed.
Maybe, just MAYBE it isn’t you, my darling one.
Just…try to consider that, and maybe try to cut yourself a little slack. Try to frame it as “I’m dealing with an overwhelming situation” instead of “I should superhumanly and singlehandedly solve these endemic and worldwide problems.”
Yes, I know some toxic people will take this thread as a shield and a permission. Fine. Fuck ‘em, karma will handle it.
If even one person who’s struggling hears this and considers that maybe they’re not the problem, it’s still a net good.
Try to imagine for a moment that maybe you’re doing the best you can and the world right now is too heavy a weight for any of us to lift alone.
And please, be comforted.
Yoko Ogawa said it much better than I ever could: “Your heart is doing everything it can, to preserve its existence.”
Give yourself the bare minimum you would give your most beloved friend right now. Please.
Or, as my now-lost soulmate once told me during a drunken night on Yesler Avenue many a year ago: “Shit’s crazy, babe. We gotta hold onto each other.”
Just…try to make room in yourself for the thought that maybe you and your body are both doing the best you can, and the world right now is a bit much for any one person to handle.
Maybe, just maybe, you’re having a sane reaction to an entirely un-fucking-reasonable situation.
It’s worth considering.
