… and then 2020 was plunged into a parallel universe of apocalypse-ish disruption… pandemic, civil unrest, social upheaval… it is like the surface of “we’re ok-ness” cracked and the honest truth of how people REALLY are is laid bare for each of us to see, for good and bad. BAD | There is A LOT of suffering and unhealed-ness that just was covered up by the daily routine of societies, cultures, and mass groups in constant motion — working, grinding, always moving from one hustle to another — too busy to notice the neighbors who were not in the fray. Some people oblivious, some outright not caring, others just trying to keep up with the forward inertia of society. Then the giant hamster wheel STOPPED. It was thrown off its base, crashed out of the cage, and now free spinning out of control (not indefinitely, I hope). Some of us are freaking out, but some of us are are able to pause for a moment and see what is happening. Which leads me to… GOOD | Besides making time to learn about social justice and making time to help others have equal rights (yes, #BLM, #saytheirnames, and #DOYOURWORK), for many of us, especially Makers, this can be like a forced a time-out. A bubble cocoon of opportunity to work on our art and making. To reach out to others who are also creative and care about other concerned citizens. We can re-think and re-tool about how we show up in this world and for each other. I’m gonna do it thru art. More art. More making. I know it might be somewhat Pollyanna-ish, but that’s what I got, and where I’m gonna start. So, “hi.” I hope you are mostly ok. If not, let’s work on it getting better, together.
