"Resistance is first of all a matter of principle and a way to live, to make yourself one small republic of unconquered spirit."

Rebecca Solnit, Hope in the Dark

2017. Three months and 15 days in. Bombs are dropping. The environment is under attack. Women's health is under attack. Many of us feel bludgeoned, but continue to love and live. We continue to create, bit by bit, piece by piece. Connection by connection, hand over hand.

For me, 2017 has been profoundly healing, which of course is not a new theme in my life. The book is out and about, calling in its "soulmate agent and publishing team" (in the words of author Linda Siversten). In the meantime, I've secured several foundational pieces of my life that hadn't been secure in years. Which is allowing me to open in new ways; inviting in the next chapter.

I'm finding that the sheer heaviness of world news is calling for both a focus and a lightness in me, which embodies the feminine and what it means to be a grown-ass woman. I look at the current administration and see a giant orgy of fear-based, ignorant, patriarchal, aggressive authoritarianism. I often have to blink my eyes to check in with myself as to whether or not it's real. Every new attack calls for a return to center, balance, and clarity.

Grace under fire. Light in the darkness.

For me, the only way forward is to celebrate life and continue to exercise gratitude. Gratitude for the lessons, the challenges, the gifts. It's a little maddening to want to do so much more and not know how in the immediate term. But I'm getting there.

In a moment of joy, I found this: Beer saves the planet. At least a little bit.

Long roots. Carbon sequestration. Beer.

There's a place where remaining fully alive and present aligns with the long game. My current practice is finding these places where the threads meet. Where the simplicity of breaking bread and having a drink meets with the complexity of protecting the planet. The places where we can smile knowingly in the face of belligerence.