I’ve been working on this post for several days now called Unknown Unknowns. Very serious stuff about worrying trends and authoritarian overreach and plans derailed and deferred.
But you know what? I’m not doing that. Fuck that noise. Instead, I want to talk about what I do know…
- I know that seeing my kid happily in love with a kind young man makes me incredibly happy. I know that having them here for dinner is great. I know that they are making the best of things when everything seems up in the air at a time when they are just getting started in life. And when I hear them laughing and playing with the dog, I know that the kids are all right.
- I know that hearth and home are incredibly nourishing and that cooking together will always be a bond between us here at the HPI. And I know that rice and beans and chilies make a damn good supper, and when you have a couple of chicken breasts it’s even better. I know that that we can feed our family and no one will ever leave our table hungry.
- I know that helping other people is wonderful and mutual thriving is the way through this. I know that when we are feeling isolated, we can reach out — if not in person then online — and find the other sparks of light out there. I know that none of us are really alone and we have to learn to connect even tighter.
- I know that coherence is an antidote to fear and that joy is the ultimate resistance. I know that every moment we truly live is a moment that no one can steal and that every person we love adds to the love in the world. I know that we will win against the forces that would have us cower and hide and who would sow anger and sadness.
I know these things in my bones. I know them with my eyes and hands and heart. No narrative can manipulate it and no messaging will change it. No one can steal that truth from me. And when everything seems uncertain and unsure, I will focus on these things that I know.
