“That was a hot mess inside a dumpster fire inside a train wreck” (Jake Tapper).
2020 was all the things. And while it is tempting to “move on” and aspire to a time that is less challenging and more comfortable, I find myself needing more time to process and heal and learn and grow.
But then I am reminded that time is not linear. There is no closure to this year at the strike of midnight, no cleaning of the slate or fresh start. There is simply a continuation of the journey. We are always inside this transition between where we are coming from and where we are going. Resolutions or intentions are not enough to bridge the divide. Transformation only happens when we choose to show up for each other and the whole of humanity every single day.
We haven’t come this far to only come this far. Let us continue to do the work of love and justice and fight for the future that we all deserve.
See you on the other side.
Kerri (she/her)
Here’s the WELLREAD round-up of the things that got us through in 2020 (in no particular order):
1. The wisdom that saved us:
The Pandemic is a Portal by Arundhati Roy
2. The community survival guide:
Mutual Aid Is Essential to Our Survival Regardless of Who Is in the White House by Dean spade
3. The rhetorical question of the year:
Are We All In This Together? by Michael J. Sandel
4. A vision for the future:
The Serviceberry: An Economy of Abundance by Robin Wall Kimmerer
5. The call to action:
America, This Is Your Chance by Michelle Alexander
6. The book that made us better:
How We Show Up by Mia Birdsong
7. The messy and complex conversation of the moment:
We Will Not Cancel Us by adrienne maree brown
8. The wake (the fuck) up call:
When Good People Don’t Act by Charles Blow
9. The podcast that made us feel:
Finding Our Way Podcast by Prentis Hemphill
10. The “real” history lesson:
Caste by Isabel Wilkerson
11. Favorite insta series:
What’s Up Y’all by Sonya Renee Taylor
12. Best headline (and prediction):
Prepare for the Ultimate Gaslighting byJulio Vincent Gambuto
13. The reality check about politics:
The Real Divide in America Is Between Political Junkies and Everyone Else by Yanna Krupnikov and John Barry Ryan
14. The must-have tool:
Mapping Our Social Change Roles in a Time of Crisis by Deepa Iyer
15. The “this is really happening” book:
Parable of the Sower/Parable of the Talents by Octavia Butler
16. The NTK about abolition:
Ruth Wilson Gillmore Makes the Case for Abolition by Chenjerai Kumanyika
17. The feel-good read:
Yes, We Can Have Hope by Joan Halifax
19. The podcast for the future we all deserve:
Fortification Podcast by Caitlin Breedlove
20. The aha moment:
That Discomfort You are Feeling is Grief by Scott Berinato
How we’re spending the transition:
NYE Sit with Rev angel Kyodo williams: 7p PST 12/31/20
NYD Ritual Dance Party with The Get Down’s Tasha Blank, Reggie Hubbard, Elena Brower Sah D’Simone, Kerri Kelly and House of Yes, 9am PST 1/1/21
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