OK, folks! Thanks for being patient with me during an unplanned hiatus last week. Life got really busy really quickly, and I wanted to take a minute to think about the results of the survey I sent out last week. I’m going to be trying out a few different potential layouts this month, so bear with me and please do let me know which you like and which you don’t like as much.
For this week, I’m going to send out a smaller list of actions that can be easily broken up throughout the week on your own time.
I’ve also decided I want to open this back up to the people who subscribed for free. I recognize that there’s a lot of financial uncertainty right now, and there are a lot of folks who’ve let me know that a paid subscription isn’t in the budget right now. Moving this away from an every day model will also allow me to feel better about balancing making this accessible with doing OODLES of work for free :) I’m still in the process of figuring out what tiered access looks like for this.
Okay! Enough blabbing. Here are your actions for the week!
If you’ve read much of my writing before, it’s no secret that I have very strong opinions about the doom and profit cycle of most mainstream media. If we’re talking about choosing Joy, choosing an intentional relationship with the news is going to be a critical part of that. Throughout this week, take an opportunity to reflect on these questions. If you wanna go hard-core about it, consider even keeping a journal with your responses to these questions.
How much time do you spend per day engaging with the news actively and on purpose? This is anytime you put on the news and pay attention to it, or when you sit down to read a newspaper or look at a news website.
How much time do you spend per day passively engaging with the news? This includes TV that might be on in the background, listening to the news while you drive/walk, etc.
How often do you engage with the news as an intrusion? This includes any notification you get from a news app (even if you don’t click on it), political headlines in your text messages or email, or news posts on social media when you’re not seeking them out.
How do you feel before, during, and after engaging with the news, actively passively and intrusively?
What feelings come along with the urge to check the news? How do you decide when to turn the news off? When you’re thinking about how you’re feeling, consider not just your emotions but also your stress levels, your energy levels, and your focus.
How often do you act on the things you hear in the news, or research actions you might be able to take?
Are there any times of the day or week that you feel certain will be news-free? Why or why not?
I hope these are some helpful starting reflections. Maybe you’ll consider turning off notifications, at least for a trial period. Maybe you’ll try to be more intentional about how much time you’re spending deep in the news, or start following my favorite mantra: give yourself permission to know less to do more.
Reach out to 3 to 5 people in your life. Instead of asking them how are you, which is a loaded question with mixed honesty results, ask them: what’s bringing you joy right now? Not only will this give them the opportunity to reflect on what’s good in their lives, it gives you the ability to lean into that joy with them. It also allows us to
Here in the US, many states with Republican governors are getting ready to do some crazy shit with gerrymandering like we’re seeing in Texas. If you are in a state with a Republican governor, find out if your governor has intentions to redistrict, and who is leading the resistance against that. I don’t know what it will be for every state, but try looking into state voter protection organizations as a good place to start.
If you are in a blue state, or out of the country, pick any red state in the US. Texas, Missouri, Ohio, etc., and do the same research.
Then, either make a donation to that organization, send them an email and ask how you can help and tell them what skills you have to offer, or sign up to attend to their next meeting. Maybe even bring a friend, and make it a fun social event like last week!
I can’t stress this enough, if you do not like the direction this country is going in, we absolutely must stop this Republican power grab because they know they will lose their next elections if they don’t. I know that everything feels urgent. And I feel that honestly, right now this is the number one battleground in the long-term fight against fascism. There are plenty of other short-term harm-reduction and community protection efforts that are also critical, but this is the front lines in the long game.
After taking this action, take a walk with your favorite podcast or album. It’s important to emotionally regulate after spending time with difficult and frightening concepts and fights.
All right, everybody that’s all for this week! Let me know if this feels like a doable amount of actions, if these are helpful, or if you’d like more or less in a weekly overview.
While I have you here, don’t forget to read this week’s list of victories in Good Queer News!
All my love, Ben
Comments
Nothing yet. Say the first thing.
Sign in to join the conversation.