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From Fear to Love: Working with Emotional Overload

Filed Under: Emotional Literacies By Leave a Comment

Here Beth is holding the older phone and showing an intense sad emotion, near tears (fear or love?).

Emotional Overload Is Rooted in Fear Last week I said goodbye to the phone I’d had for more than 3 years, a phone I was attached to more than I’d like to admit. I entered a state of complete overwhelm, spiraling between questions and frustrations, between crying and raging: How could I possibly learn a new phone? Why aren’t there any small phones? How will one of the new—BIG—phones fit in my pocket? It’s not fair that all the phones are large, while women’s pants ... Read more ...

Eating Vegan in Ireland

Filed Under: Why Vegan? By Leave a Comment

Traditional Irish food (bangers and mash) made vegan + gluten-free: jackfruit sausages, mashed potatoes, peas, onions, and mushroom gravy.

From curries and creamy risotto to mint chocolate and coconut ice cream, Ireland offers an array of vegan dishes, including comfort foods and sweet treats. This summer I traveled to Ireland with only a few weeks of planning—after realizing how much I needed a period of extended rest and reset. When I began telling friends and family about the trip, responses went something like this: You’re going to Ireland? That’s awesome! But what will you eat?” The short answer is ... Read more ...

Responding to Microaggressions

Filed Under: Everyday Feminism, Higher Education, Racial Justice By 3 Comments

The article “Rhetorical and Pedagogical Interventions for Countering Microaggressions” as it appears in the print publication of Pedagogy.

How do we respond to microaggressions, or those everyday and commonplace actions that convey bias, invalidate people, and reinforce structural oppression? We know from research and personal accounts that microaggressions occur all-too-frequently across contexts—workplaces, family gatherings, and community settings. From hurtful words to dismissive gestures, microaggressions do more than communicate harm. They have wide-reaching impact, for they deny access, constrain ... Read more ...

Responding to White Supremacist Terror, This Time in El Paso

Filed Under: Emotional Literacies, Everyday Feminism, Racial Justice By 1 Comment

Photo of Ross Castle in Killarney, Ireland, taken the day before the El Paso shooting. Photo looks up at the castle from the water.

I woke this morning in Ireland to news of the El Paso shooting: the latest act of white supremacist terror in the United States. My body was already aching (today’s a rest day after some seriously long walks), but the news ramped up the ache and lodged itself in my chest. I recognized the familiar heartache that comes with shootings and acts of violence, particularly against Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC)—in this case, against Latinx folks in Texas. Along ... Read more ...

Self-Inquiry and Social Justice: What’s Walking Got to Do with It?

Filed Under: Contemplative Practices, Everyday Feminism By Leave a Comment

This image from Zion National Park in Utah (southwestern United States) shows a trail leading toward striated sandstone boulders. Green trees, blue sky, and puffy white clouds from the photo.

This summer I’m offering “40 Questions for 40 Walks: Toward Everyday Living for Justice”—a self-paced e-course to support deep-diving into conditioned ways of living, being, and intervening in the world. My hope is that these 40 questions provide structure and invite attention to a wide range of matters that factor into everyday life, yet may be easily taken-for-granted or overlooked as important to social justice, racial justice, and environmental justice. Why ... Read more ...