RESIST!
Good morning all. What a week! Thanks for stopping by.
It’s been a difficult ten days. I won’t wax heavily political, but these are serious times in our democracy and there is a time to reap and a time to sow. This is a time to sow. We can not remain silent. Friends say “resist” isn’t clear, what can I do? I offer some suggestions passed on by a friend, and I offer beautiful thoughts offered by the dear Corina Andronache, author of “Archaeology for the Woman’s Soul.” I send both with love.
In the meantime, stay sane, take care of yourselves, practice kindness whenever you can - beginning with you - and resist. Find joy and balance every day, whatever way works for you. Meditation, being in nature, being with friends, whatever works. It is important because if we are in a constant state of angst or other negative emotions that may be arising now, it does no good, and only hurts us. Wishing you, and all of us, peace.
Suggestions:
FOR THOSE OF YOU LOOKING TO TURN YOUR ANGER INTO ACTION, here’s some advice from a high-level staffer for a Senator.
There are two things that we should be doing all the time right now. You should NOT be bothering with online petitions or emailing.
The best thing you can do to be heard and get your congressperson to pay attention is to have face-to-face time — if they have town halls, go to them. Go to their local offices. If you’re in DC, try to find a way to go to an event of theirs. Go to the “mobile offices” that their staff hold periodically (all these times are located on each congressperson’s website). When you go, ask questions. A lot of them. And push for answers. The louder and more vocal and present you can be at those, the better.
2) But those in-person events don’t happen every day. So, the absolute most important thing that people should be doing every day is calling.
YOU SHOULD MAKE 6 CALLS A DAY:
2 each (DC office and your local office) to your 2 Senators & your 1 Representative.
The staffer was very clear that any sort of online contact basically gets immediately ignored, and letters pretty much get thrown in the trash (unless you have a particularly strong emotional story — but even then it’s not worth the time it took you to craft that letter).
Calls are what all the congresspeople pay attention to. Every single day, the Senior Staff and the Senator get a report of the 3 most-called-about topics for that day at each of their offices (in DC and local offices), and exactly how many people said what about each of those topics. They’re also sorted by zip code and area code. She said that Republican callers generally outnumber Democrat callers 4-1, and when it’s a particular issue that single-issue-voters pay attention to (like gun control, or planned parenthood funding, etc...), it’s often closer to 11-1, and that’s recently pushed Republican congressmen on the fence to vote with the Republicans. In the last 8 years, Republicans have called, and Democrats haven’t.
So, when you call:
A) When calling the DC office, ask for the Staff member in charge of whatever you’re calling about (“Hi, I’d like to speak with the staffer in charge of Healthcare, please”) — local offices won’t always have specific ones, but they might. If you get transferred to that person, awesome. If you don’t, that’s ok — ask for that person’s name, and then just keep talking to whoever answered the phone. Don’t leave a message (unless the office doesn’t pick up at all — then you can — but it’s better to talk to the staffer who first answered than leave a message for the specific staffer in charge of your topic).
Give them your zip code. They won’t always ask for it, but make sure you give it to them, so they can mark it down. Extra points if you live in a zip code that traditionally votes for them, since they’ll want to make sure they get/keep your vote.
C) If you can make it personal, make it personal. “I voted for you in the last election and I’m worried/happy/whatever” or “I’m a teacher, and I am appalled by ——-,” or “as a single mother” or “as a white, middle class woman,” or whatever.
D) Pick 1-2 specific things per day to focus on. Don’t rattle off everything you’re concerned about — they’re figuring out what 1-2 topics to mark you down for on their lists. So, focus on 1-2 per day. Ideally something that will be voted on/taken up in the next few days, but it doesn’t really matter — even if there’s not a vote coming up in the next week, call anyway. It’s important that they just keep getting calls.
E) Be clear on what you want — “I’m disappointed that the Senator...” or “I want to thank the Senator for their vote on... “ or “I want the Senator to know that voting in _____ way is the wrong decision for our state because... “ Don’t leave any ambiguity.
F) They may get to know your voice/get sick of you — it doesn’t matter. The people answering the phones generally turn over every 6 weeks anyway, so even if they’re really sick of you, they’ll be gone in 6 weeks.
From experience since the election: If you hate being on the phone & feel awkward (which is a lot of people) don’t worry about it — there are a bunch of scripts (Indivisible has some, there are lots of others floating around these day). After a few days of calling, it starts to feel a lot more natural.
Put the 6 numbers in your phone (all under P – Politician.) An example is McCaskill MO, Politician McCaskill DC, Politician Blunt MO, etc., which makes it really easy to click down the list each day.
TODAY, DO NOT FEAR TO SPEAK YOUR TRUTH
If the way the world spins pains you deep inside, you have the power to change it. If injustice angers you, use your Voice to stand up for what matters to you. If you are saddened by suffering, loss of life, hungry children and polluted rivers, make it your life’s mission to make a change.
Do not ever believe that you are powerless. Because you are not. On the contrary! You have power to make this world right. Make it work for all. Make it work in such a way that oppression and inequality become ideas talked about in history books.
Today, you have the power to stand up for what is important to you. You are called to look within and be truthful to your Soul. Never allow your truth to be silenced by the majority.
This is not the time to compromise who you are. But a time to stand in your power and speak the truth of your heart.
Indeed, a time to question our truth. Is our truth truly ours? Is it what our soul desires? Is it what we truly believe? Or have we been indoctrinated to embrace a worldview that is not in alignment with our soul path. Have no fear! Look within. Excavate. Ask. Excavate again.
If you are here to change what exists, believe that you have the power to change what is insulting to your soul. History repeats itself and once again we are called to take a stand in a big way. It is a holy time to explore our “why” and be honest with ourselves.
To serve humanity is sacred work. The Soul Deep Woman came here at this time to live her truth. There is no “brand” that we create, there is no message that we share without analyzing our own values and beliefs.
If we claim that we are here to ennoble humanity, choosing to leave out of our conversations what doesn’t serve our “brand” is never going to create the results we want. Because we communicate through our energetic signature, our thoughts and beliefs are the invisible metaphors that bind us and allow us to walk as who we are. Before we say any words, our own truth walks before us. It opens doors. Or it closes them.
Today, do not fear to speak your truth. We can change what doesn’t work. Because this whole world is a social construction of someone’s imagination. It can be reimagined. It can be reconstructed. It can be rebuilt. It can be remade in the image of what is noble.
It can be restored according to sacred principles of justice, integrity and truth. Universal truth that can’t be shaken by greed, oppression and dehumanization of those that don’t fit in the value system of patriarchal fear.
Do not hide what you believe. This is not the time to sit on the sidelines. All of us must take responsibility for our truth. For what we believe. Because we are all participants and creators of this world.
If you think that staying silent will serve your brand, think again! It will not. If we call ourselves conscious leaders, then we have the sacred duty to be on the right side of history and call out the ills of the world. We must be informed. Socially aware. Standing in our truth. Without compromise.
Today, be bold. Have courage. Live by your convictions. That’s how you Make your Soul. That’s how you heal the Soul of the World.
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Reflection by Archaeology for the Woman’s Soul
Photo: on Pinterest