to get through it, you've go to go through it

feeling all the feels

olá people,

the last time i sent y’all a letter, it was a year that ended in 4, there was no one shutting down the department of education in the u.s., elon musk spent less time in d.c. (aaahhh, the good ole days), i was taking different drugs (went from fluoxetine to sertraline to bupropion) and had two fewer living beings in my house (we now have a cat and dog).

but for all that changes, about as much stays the same. i have the same amount of wrinkles, my cellulite is relatively stable, my kid is as about as anxious, my husband as about as unfocused, and my life continues with as many privileges and challenges.

because everyone, no matter how big or small, has challenges.

formally introducing marshmallow, our 2 or 3 year old cat adopted for his soft fur and grumpy yet loving disposition. he’s basically all i want to be in life.

if you live in the u.s. i have no insights or words of wisdom for you. what a bummer, for real.

i've read criticisms about those who are upset about trump's actions. they were nearly exactly the same criticisms in 2016.

sure, you should've known, no surprises here and the time for hand wringing was probably in the tea party days of the 2010s, or long before, given the decades long project of the heritage foundation and conservative billionaires (here's looking at you koch brothers and mighty thiel).

but shame and blame is probably what got trump to office so no need to deny people their angst and suffering. if you feel like crap about the crap that's going on, be all in your feels.

i was raised with very self-helpy discourse, a world that discounts institutional oppressions and puts all the burden on the individual, usually to feed the capitalistic machine of consumerism, but there was one lesson that i was taught that i've carried with me (discarded 99% of the rest).

to get through it, you've go to go through it.

you've got to feel what you feel, as much as you've got to feel it, to have any chance of moving beyond it.

all feelings are legitimate (that comes from psychology, not guru land), and denying what we feel is a formula for misdirection and disconnection.

whatever you feel—despite none of this being a surprise and some people suffering a lot more than others—is valid and you are allowed to feel it. you know why? because only you have the power to give yourself permission to feel.

now, maybe you aren't in a safe place to share those feelings (for most of us, social media is not a safe place) and how you express those feelings needs to be moderated and cognizant of consequences, but feeling the feels may be the only option in a world run by whack-o billionaires.

so on that cheery note, i really hope y’all are somewhere safe, with some good food and at least a lil love. furry or otherwise.

abraços,

m

p.s. if you read romance, stop reading the billionaire ones. for real. no more hyping the most destructive class in society. it's the least we can do, right?