Calming Words from Terry Tempest Williams

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Stay steady, Friends. This is a moment that calls for our attention, discernment, and compassion. We are in the middle of a story that history will hold and we are now living inside. May we continue to do the work that is ours to do as we keep the “open space of democracy” open and remember “The human heart is the first home of democracy. It is where we embrace our questions. Can we be equitable? Can we be generous? Can we listen with our whole beings, not just our minds, and offer our attention rather than our opinions? And do we have enough resolve in our hearts to act courageously, relentlessly, without giving up—ever—trusting our fellow citizens to join with us in our determined pursuit of a living democracy.” TTW

This pic accompanied her post - 

Castle Valley.jpg

She's good. Calming. Steady. Smart. Thanks, Slick.

>>>>>trusting our fellow citizens to join with us in our determined pursuit of a living democracy<<<<

I have no faith in the ability of the electorate to do this.

I read that and all I can think of is Steve Martin saying.....

NAAAAAAAH!

The thing I keep thinking of is yes, what she said, "And do we have enough resolve in our hearts to act courageously, relentlessly, without giving up". The calm and steadiness make space for the work that needs to be done.

Terry wrote a great piece called "Erosion" the day after the orange turd got elected. It's framed on my wall. She went down to the Colorado River to collect her thoughts. I can't find it on the web. 

Then she wrote a collection of essays and published them in a book called "Erosion." She also wrote "The Open Space of Democracy" in 2004. Check out here books at the link.

She's such an amazing spirit. I love her. Saw her last month at the James McMurtry show.  http://terrytempestwilliams.com/index.html

A tweet today:

Eloquent, clear, what must be said. Please read David Remnick's spot-on essay in @NewYorker  on how Donald Trump's inflammatory speech has boiled America's blood coast to coast and hurt people in the process -- Violent language begets violent behavior. Trump says he threw away the speech he wrote before the shooting and has written a new speech afterwards that he will deliver on Thursday at the Republican Convention. But no spin or conversion can erase what is on the record. Trumps own words sliced a nation in two. A healing is possible, but it will come from We, the People. We can no longer look for leadership beyond ourselves. Question. Stand. Speak. Act. https://newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/a-nation-inflamed-trump-assassi...

Pessimism is easy. Hope is hard. 

Sorry for the comment above. Everyone has their own ideas and reactions. Just trying to present one of many and Ms Tempest Williams is revered by many. Thought it might be interesting to see. Maybe I was wrong. I'm as dazed and confused as a lot of people. 

Here's what she wrote after the election in 2016 if anyone's interested. Peace out! 

TTW Erosion 2.JPG