On the eve of elections in the United States, I share three orientations to voting: voting as harm reduction, public outcry, and collective responsibility. These are three ways I think about voting as everyday action aligned with striving toward justice. Three ways to vote even when it hurts, even when the heart aches. Why My Heart Hurts on Election Day and Why Voting Still Matters As I wrote back in 2018, my heart hurts on election day. And it does today, leading up to ... Read more ...
activism
Continuing to Respond to the Supreme Court’s Decision Overturning Roe
Dear Beloved Reader, I began this post during Friday’s writing group, where I was when the Supreme Court released the Dobbs decision—overturning Roe v. Wade, restricting legal abortion access, and undercutting reproductive justice. I felt held in deep companionship through the news. And I remain incredibly grateful for activist-educator-writer-friend-colleagues who show up in the world with commitment and care. Now, more than ever, I feel the need for community—for ... Read more ...
Interrupting Thanksgiving: Three Responses to Disrupt What’s Normalized on This National Holiday
Each month, I write a Q&A newsletter for Patreon subscribers based on questions I receive, and this month, it felt important to share these responses as a blog post. It felt important because I received three questions all related to the upcoming holiday: How do you interrupt the Thanksgiving holiday? How do you prepare for conversations with white family members? For example, how do you handle situations where people say “let’s agree to disagree” to shut things ... Read more ...
Resources for Sustaining Momentum and Doing Everyday Racial Justice Work
We’re in a time of urgent and important work for racial justice: lots of action alongside lots of learning and unlearning. I’m deeply grateful for the leadership, actions, and visions offered through the Movement for Black Lives Matters. I’m deeply grateful for people reaching out, being in the streets, organizing actions, holding space, and diving deep into hurt and rage and grief and more. And I’m deeply grateful for being called to this work: both in this moment and ... Read more ...
Unraveling Whiteness: A Call for More Courage
I’m thinking about whiteness—the structure, ideology, and everyday enactments—as I try to process (yet again) how white people weaponize whiteness. My heart is hurting with rage and grief from recent events, explained in these articles from The Root: “‘There’s an African-American Man Threatening My Life’: Karen Calls Police on Black Man for Asking Her to Leash Her Dog” “Outrage in Minneapolis after Black Man Dies in Custody Following Brutal Police Arrest: ‘I Cannot ... Read more ...
Eating for Justice? Why Explore Relationships with Food
Relationships with food are tricky at all times of year, but this is especially the case in January. From the pressures of new year resolutions to weight-loss goals and fitness challenges, January highlights the swing from decadent December eating to body-shaming that’s associated with “getting in shape.” Or, in the words of a recent article by Zoe Fenson: “January is the month of body shaming. I’m tuning out.” In recent years, January has also been fashioned as ... Read more ...
Q&A with Mel Meder: Why Support generative somatics
In this Q&A post, we learn from Mel Meder about the importance and possibilities of generative somatics—a deeply embodied practice and theory for creating transformative change. I met Mel several years ago through a mutual friend in Madison, Wisconsin, and I’ve since been learning from Mel about the work of fundraising for organizations that we deeply care about and want to support. generative somatics is one of those organizations, which is why we’re highlighting ... Read more ...
3 Reasons to Participate in the 40-Day Practice on Strengthening Emotional Literacies to Counter White Fragility
Starting on November 22nd and running for the final 40 days of 2019, I’m offering the “40-Day Practice: Strengthening Emotional Literacies to Counter White Fragility.” Every time I offer this practice (this will be my third and second online), I get a lot of questions, including what this work involves, why it asks for a commitment of 40 days, and why it focuses on emotions. Though I hope the course description answers many of these questions—and I’m happy to answer ... Read more ...
Q&A with Alexa Eason: Intern with Heart Head Hands
This post introduces Alexa Eason, Georgetown senior and intern with Heart Head Hands, as she talks about her internship projects, semester goals, and commitments. This post also introduces a new series of interviews aimed at sharing projects related to social, racial, and environmental justice *and* asking others the question that runs through this blog: “How do you strive toward everyday living for justice?” In future Q&A posts, we’ll learn about embodied healing ... Read more ...
Eating Vegan in Ireland
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 ...
![Writing retreats offer fuel for creative fires. If you'd like to feed your flames, consider an upcoming retreat.
Registration is open for the following dates:
Monday, June 5th
Thursday, June 29th
Monday, July 10th
Thursday, July 20th
Wednesday, July 26th
Monday, August 14th
Learn more and sign up here: https://heart-head-hands.com/product/writing-retreats/
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[Photo shows my first campfire of the summer with yellow-orange-red flames inside a fire pit -- against a dark blue-purple background.]
#writing #creative #fire #creativefire #writingretreats #writingretreat #writingcommunity #writingcoach](https://heart-head-hands.com/wp-content/plugins/instagram-feed/img/placeholder.png)
