I appreciated your words today. I do hope you finish and publish the non-apocalyptic essays you're writing. The world still needs voices talking about beauty, meaning, and even simply improving the work we take joy in doing.
Linda, I really liked this post of yours. It resonated with me. How do we escape from what’s happening around us. Loved how you reminded us the Ellie Wiesel’s quote. I’ll come back to this post again to retread and think. Thank you. Dita
Yes! How do we write about ordinary things when the world is on fire? This is a great question for us as writers and readers. Thanks for bringing this topic up, Linda. I've had students unsubscribe who knew me from when I taught yoga in studio classrooms. They thought that when I wrote "politically" or differently than they believed, I wasn't showing what it means to teach yoga. My response was that they never understood the totality or essence of what yoga truly is.
Omg, Paulette. I love this so much. Because yes, of course, it's not just writing and I love that you framed the same thing through yoga. That really hit me in a way I didn't see coming and thank you!
I'm so happy it resonated, Linda. I used to tell my students, it's all yoga. Most of them 'got it,' but I think some had a selective understanding. Thanks for responding.
People can unsubscribe from all the media, the performative politics, the bad faith arguments, the people fighting and marching in the streets in the face of what is happening. They can walk away, pretend that their lives haven't been affected, that they're not concerned with what is happening...
But they cannot hide forever.
Reality is a painting that we all contribute to. The colors that we choose to add are of the actions we take, the choices we make. I mentioned the story of Dorian Gray in another comment from previous work without truly reflecting on it, but it's terrifying now just how much it seems viscerally relevant to what is happening in my country.
We spent generations adding to the tapestry. With the files released, we basically took the dagger and cut a wide gash across that work. Now, everything that was captured within is being freed into the world. It's a very rough analogy, and it may not fully play out.
But it reveals who we are to those unwilling to face the past and fight for the future.
Sharing and writing and creating, these are the acts of defiance that we use against the darkness. As you say, though, we are not unaffected. I have a feeling that our generation and the generations to follow will create a new cadre of writers and artists to do what many are unwilling to do now. We take in that darkness, transmute it into something else, and spill it back out into the world like the Reverend Mother takes the poison of the worm and renders it palatable in the Dune saga.
I don't know what to do. Writing obliquely and adjacent to current events seems half-hearted to me, but it's as close as I can get right now...
Reality is a painting that we all contribute to -- dang, Vince. That's powerful. It is, indeed and well put. I agree on the generations to come. Lots of people complaining about kids today, but that's always been the way. But I'm watching them out there and they make me proud.
i started blogging 17 years ago as a “mommy blogger” in turkey. i had one child at the time, and my only concerns were sleep deprivation, potty training and other parent-related stuff. back then, i didn’t know that “personal was political.” i thought that i was secluded from everything else going on in the public sphere and would continue to do so if i did everything “right.” little did i know that what happened outside of my home affected what happened inside.
i was making deals with brands and would probably still be doing so until the gezi park protests in istanbul took place in 2013. when i joined the protests, i was suddenly “too political” for some of my followers and definitely for brands. they were saying that i should keep writing about parenting — which was what i did: i was out on the streets for my children’s future and was documenting what was happening.
16 years and two more kids later, as turkey is going through its worst economical and political crisis (mayor of istanbul and runner for president has been detained by the erdoğan regime for almost a year) i still cannot turn my back on what's happening. i would probably have made a lot more money had i stuck with the "positive stories" about motherhood and parenting, but what would i say to my children one day when they asked "what were you doing when everything was falling apart?"
i totally understand the sadness, the anger and the vulnerability that you're going though. and i also know that, for people who cannot turn their back to injustice, standing on the right side of history is the only option.
I love this, elif. I do. If there is one thing my child will never say, it's that mom was complicit and complacent. I agree with you, we must stand on the right side of history that's being made as we write.
A powerful article. It begs us to tell the truth and not look away. America got itself into this mess because too many of our citizens looked away, didn't care, or felt it wouldn't happen to them. With the exception of those in the MAGA world, I feel that reading different viewpoints helps me to strengthen my viewpoints. Once a person has entered the MAGA world they are beyond reason, and they have shown me what they truly believe. This is no longer a political discussion, but a view of hatred and fear that is truly disgusting. MAGA will pass, but at what cost? Our country will never be what we thought it was before MAGA, but we were wrong. The racism, fear, and hatred lived before MAGA, and will live on after this movement has spent itself. In the past, I always felt that tomorrow would be better than today. Now, I am not so sure.
Powerful words, Edward. I still have hope and I'll tell you why. There's a post apocalyptic novel called Those Who Remain. In that book, it says "Hard times create strong men. Strong men create good times. Good times create weak men. And weak men create hard times."
The cyclic nature of that resonates with me because all nature is cyclic. So it makes me think we keep going around and around for as long as humans exist
This has put into words what I’ve been feeling for months. Thank you. I can see both sides, and that people want escapism and they can’t bear to look, but if we look away we are complicit.
I want to escape too, and see beauty, art, love, hope. But I also want to see that others are as outraged as I am, and that there is a resistance to the tidal wave of capitalism, greed, pedophilia, narcissism… the list goes on. If nobody stands against the tide, it’s going to wash us all away
Ah yes, I have really been feeling this. My last post I felt I had to preface with an explanation about why I'm writing about something other than the horrors that are taking place in the world around me. And I do sometimes feel like I ought to be doing nothing but reading and writing about that, as I feel frivolous sometimes when I think about the people who are out there fighting for their lives or their neighbours' lives. But it's helpful to remember, as you point out, that there is always a terrible world around us and that artists still keep doing what they do, and perhaps it's in times like these when it becomes even more urgent. I feel also that so much of what I read (and write) here on Substack that doesn't at first look political is both writing about the world we want and simply doing what we need to do to stay human and to stay connected and to inspire one another and remind one another of all that's still good. I can't help thinking that there is a richer and more flourishing culture that is growing up in the cracks where the oligarchic powers don't know to look and stamp it out, and that one day it will gain enough mass to break through the old order, and it comes from the poets and the watercolour sketchers and the diarists and the farmers and the mothers and the musicians, and and and, and if they all just keep on doing what they're doing that can be much more powerful than all of us giving all our attention to the world as it appears in the news. So, I agree that balance is key, as we also can't look away from the very real struggles of so many, but there are two sides of this and the one where we're building new things also can't be neglected. Thanks for speaking about this, as I was feeling quite distressed about it and it's good to get your insights, wise as they always are, and to know I'm not alone in this worry.
You are not alone, indeed. And what a beautiful thought, Jo. It has often been the creatives and the people doing all the things that need doing who inspire us and remind us that the world is good. Thank you so much
For many of us it is a long way away, for sure. I'm sure if I lived in Minnesota it would feel a whole lot closer. But yes, I agree. We must keep writing about ordinary things because it's a much needed break from the news cycle
It's the cup of tea, the garden planning, the bird heard on a walk, the first bloom, the argument with a partner, the gratitude of a neighbor. The ordinary moments that form lives. My fear is that we have replaced them with digital nonsense, corporate influencers, etc. We must look and understand what is happening to our communities, countries, and the planet. I try to read a little bit from a variety of perspectives and it helps me to understand how we got here. It's a moral obligation for me.
I like that, Sue. I try to do the same. I walk 10K steps every day too except for in the coldest or iciest winter days. You're absolutely right, it helps to get out and hear the birds and get some fresh air.
Wow, yes, thank you!
Thank you so much Jackie. I hoped my first comment wouldn't be one I have to delete so thank you for showing up first lol
Very powerful. Thank you for this.
Thank you :)
I haven’t read this bit the same thing is on my mind and I hope you have a great answer!
Yep, you never fail us.
Thank you.
I hoped it wouldn't disappoint when I read the first one lol
You’re very on point lately and I personally encourage you to continue the line of questioning.
It is very, very hard to look away and, correct, it doesn’t stop coming.
It. Just. Won’t. Stop.
I wish I had an answer for you other than to say you’re not the only one who feels this way.
Thank you Rick. I wish I had a better answer, too. But I figure struggling to figure it out is better than pretending none of it is happening
Same …
THANK YOU FOR THIS! All your references are amazing, a very powerful piece, and very much what I think about every time I sit down to write.🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻💜
So many of us are there, that's for sure. Thank you, and 💜 right back
I appreciated your words today. I do hope you finish and publish the non-apocalyptic essays you're writing. The world still needs voices talking about beauty, meaning, and even simply improving the work we take joy in doing.
Absolutely I will, Amanda. They mean too much to me not to. The balance is hard, but I've been around the block a few times, I'll figure it out lol
I look forward to reading them, as always.
Linda, I really liked this post of yours. It resonated with me. How do we escape from what’s happening around us. Loved how you reminded us the Ellie Wiesel’s quote. I’ll come back to this post again to retread and think. Thank you. Dita
Thank you, Dita. I'm glad this resonated. So many of us are there
Yes! How do we write about ordinary things when the world is on fire? This is a great question for us as writers and readers. Thanks for bringing this topic up, Linda. I've had students unsubscribe who knew me from when I taught yoga in studio classrooms. They thought that when I wrote "politically" or differently than they believed, I wasn't showing what it means to teach yoga. My response was that they never understood the totality or essence of what yoga truly is.
Omg, Paulette. I love this so much. Because yes, of course, it's not just writing and I love that you framed the same thing through yoga. That really hit me in a way I didn't see coming and thank you!
I'm so happy it resonated, Linda. I used to tell my students, it's all yoga. Most of them 'got it,' but I think some had a selective understanding. Thanks for responding.
"selective understanding." I love that!
Thank you, it seems that’s going around these days.
People can unsubscribe from all the media, the performative politics, the bad faith arguments, the people fighting and marching in the streets in the face of what is happening. They can walk away, pretend that their lives haven't been affected, that they're not concerned with what is happening...
But they cannot hide forever.
Reality is a painting that we all contribute to. The colors that we choose to add are of the actions we take, the choices we make. I mentioned the story of Dorian Gray in another comment from previous work without truly reflecting on it, but it's terrifying now just how much it seems viscerally relevant to what is happening in my country.
We spent generations adding to the tapestry. With the files released, we basically took the dagger and cut a wide gash across that work. Now, everything that was captured within is being freed into the world. It's a very rough analogy, and it may not fully play out.
But it reveals who we are to those unwilling to face the past and fight for the future.
Sharing and writing and creating, these are the acts of defiance that we use against the darkness. As you say, though, we are not unaffected. I have a feeling that our generation and the generations to follow will create a new cadre of writers and artists to do what many are unwilling to do now. We take in that darkness, transmute it into something else, and spill it back out into the world like the Reverend Mother takes the poison of the worm and renders it palatable in the Dune saga.
I don't know what to do. Writing obliquely and adjacent to current events seems half-hearted to me, but it's as close as I can get right now...
Reality is a painting that we all contribute to -- dang, Vince. That's powerful. It is, indeed and well put. I agree on the generations to come. Lots of people complaining about kids today, but that's always been the way. But I'm watching them out there and they make me proud.
Killing it, Vince. Killing it.
Right?
hello, linda,
i started blogging 17 years ago as a “mommy blogger” in turkey. i had one child at the time, and my only concerns were sleep deprivation, potty training and other parent-related stuff. back then, i didn’t know that “personal was political.” i thought that i was secluded from everything else going on in the public sphere and would continue to do so if i did everything “right.” little did i know that what happened outside of my home affected what happened inside.
i was making deals with brands and would probably still be doing so until the gezi park protests in istanbul took place in 2013. when i joined the protests, i was suddenly “too political” for some of my followers and definitely for brands. they were saying that i should keep writing about parenting — which was what i did: i was out on the streets for my children’s future and was documenting what was happening.
16 years and two more kids later, as turkey is going through its worst economical and political crisis (mayor of istanbul and runner for president has been detained by the erdoğan regime for almost a year) i still cannot turn my back on what's happening. i would probably have made a lot more money had i stuck with the "positive stories" about motherhood and parenting, but what would i say to my children one day when they asked "what were you doing when everything was falling apart?"
i totally understand the sadness, the anger and the vulnerability that you're going though. and i also know that, for people who cannot turn their back to injustice, standing on the right side of history is the only option.
I love this, elif. I do. If there is one thing my child will never say, it's that mom was complicit and complacent. I agree with you, we must stand on the right side of history that's being made as we write.
A powerful article. It begs us to tell the truth and not look away. America got itself into this mess because too many of our citizens looked away, didn't care, or felt it wouldn't happen to them. With the exception of those in the MAGA world, I feel that reading different viewpoints helps me to strengthen my viewpoints. Once a person has entered the MAGA world they are beyond reason, and they have shown me what they truly believe. This is no longer a political discussion, but a view of hatred and fear that is truly disgusting. MAGA will pass, but at what cost? Our country will never be what we thought it was before MAGA, but we were wrong. The racism, fear, and hatred lived before MAGA, and will live on after this movement has spent itself. In the past, I always felt that tomorrow would be better than today. Now, I am not so sure.
Powerful words, Edward. I still have hope and I'll tell you why. There's a post apocalyptic novel called Those Who Remain. In that book, it says "Hard times create strong men. Strong men create good times. Good times create weak men. And weak men create hard times."
The cyclic nature of that resonates with me because all nature is cyclic. So it makes me think we keep going around and around for as long as humans exist
Excellent piece. Thank you.
Thank you Jessica :)
This has put into words what I’ve been feeling for months. Thank you. I can see both sides, and that people want escapism and they can’t bear to look, but if we look away we are complicit.
I want to escape too, and see beauty, art, love, hope. But I also want to see that others are as outraged as I am, and that there is a resistance to the tidal wave of capitalism, greed, pedophilia, narcissism… the list goes on. If nobody stands against the tide, it’s going to wash us all away
Yes, omg, yes. All of this. I want to escape, too. But I want to know people aren't looking away, too. Well said
Ah yes, I have really been feeling this. My last post I felt I had to preface with an explanation about why I'm writing about something other than the horrors that are taking place in the world around me. And I do sometimes feel like I ought to be doing nothing but reading and writing about that, as I feel frivolous sometimes when I think about the people who are out there fighting for their lives or their neighbours' lives. But it's helpful to remember, as you point out, that there is always a terrible world around us and that artists still keep doing what they do, and perhaps it's in times like these when it becomes even more urgent. I feel also that so much of what I read (and write) here on Substack that doesn't at first look political is both writing about the world we want and simply doing what we need to do to stay human and to stay connected and to inspire one another and remind one another of all that's still good. I can't help thinking that there is a richer and more flourishing culture that is growing up in the cracks where the oligarchic powers don't know to look and stamp it out, and that one day it will gain enough mass to break through the old order, and it comes from the poets and the watercolour sketchers and the diarists and the farmers and the mothers and the musicians, and and and, and if they all just keep on doing what they're doing that can be much more powerful than all of us giving all our attention to the world as it appears in the news. So, I agree that balance is key, as we also can't look away from the very real struggles of so many, but there are two sides of this and the one where we're building new things also can't be neglected. Thanks for speaking about this, as I was feeling quite distressed about it and it's good to get your insights, wise as they always are, and to know I'm not alone in this worry.
You are not alone, indeed. And what a beautiful thought, Jo. It has often been the creatives and the people doing all the things that need doing who inspire us and remind us that the world is good. Thank you so much
Yes I know what you mean, I trust we have a long way to go before it all turns apocalyptic! Let's continue writing about ordinary things?
For many of us it is a long way away, for sure. I'm sure if I lived in Minnesota it would feel a whole lot closer. But yes, I agree. We must keep writing about ordinary things because it's a much needed break from the news cycle
It's the cup of tea, the garden planning, the bird heard on a walk, the first bloom, the argument with a partner, the gratitude of a neighbor. The ordinary moments that form lives. My fear is that we have replaced them with digital nonsense, corporate influencers, etc. We must look and understand what is happening to our communities, countries, and the planet. I try to read a little bit from a variety of perspectives and it helps me to understand how we got here. It's a moral obligation for me.
I like that, Sue. I try to do the same. I walk 10K steps every day too except for in the coldest or iciest winter days. You're absolutely right, it helps to get out and hear the birds and get some fresh air.