In a recent newsletter, Austin Kleon linked to this quote from writer Sasah Chapin:
“When this happens—when expectation breaks down, and you are living in a shipwreck of your expectations—a precious state of being can dawn, if you’re lucky. This is the state of Playing In The Ruins. You’re not seeing the landscape around you as something that needs to transform. You’re just seeing it as the scrapyard it is. And then you can look around yourself and say, okay, what is actually here, when I’m not telling myself constant lies about what it’s going to be one day. Who am I actually, in this fallen place, this actuality foreign to my hopes and dreams.”
Why am I thinking of “ruins” now? OH, NO REASON. But I guess I’m also ready to look around and say “what is actually here” and what that is is…each other. Government won’t save us but we can take care of our neighbors. We can be a kind stranger on the internet. Here are some ways to do that:
- Find your local mutual aid society and get involved. The Salt Lake City one has community fridges; I bet I can help keep them stocked.
- Go to GoFundMe, search “name change,” and filter by “close to goal.” Then throw in some money and help a trans person get their name legally changed.
- It’s also Transanta season, which lets you send at-risk trans kids things from their wish list. I’ve donated before and signing the gift notes with, “We love you,” honestly probably did more for me than the recipient, but it felt good.