Get Close

The world feels like a dumpster fire, and the current regime keeps hitting us with flaming hot orange menace Molotov cocktails of shock and awe at every turn. It’s taking all of my self-determination to refrain from scrolling late into the night and then washing, rinsing, and repeating the following day. I’ve engaged in this more than once in the last week, and all I’m left with is a deep sense of doom.

Years ago, as a public school art teacher, I taught a photography unit to my 7th graders. We’d look at famous photography and discuss what makes a good photograph. The follow-up assignment would be to take as many pictures as possible and then submit the top three. Inevitably, I’d have that one student who would say, “I don’t know what to take a picture of!” This was when my most significant piece of advice as a teacher was birthed into the world, and I will share it with you: if you’re feeling overwhelmed about the assignment (in this case, It’s fighting fascism), get close.

My student felt overwhelmed by the possibilities of what to photograph. They could choose anything, but when they took a moment to focus in on raindrops, the arc of a flower stem, or a human eye, the results were nothing short of phenomenal. We are currently being hit left, right, and center with an endless demand that we pay attention to everything all at once. This doesn’t serve the communities we are trying to protect. If we’re going to weather the next chapter of the Great American Experiment, we’ve got to focus on the places and spaces where we can make the most impact with our time, personalities, and whatever else we have to give. Or, in other words, get close. For me, that’s making art and writing. For you, it may be volunteering with mutual aid groups, fostering pets from your nearby shelter, running for your local school board, or delivering meals to seniors. Focusing on our strengths not only allows our efforts to be compounded but also lends a sense of ease to the struggle—using our interests and gifts to change the world to become more just and equitable is the natural extension of who we are as creative beings.

I get it that you might want to close yourself off from what’s happening. Please don’t.

Give yourself a few minutes (or an hour or two) every day to scream at the void. But don’t make the overwhelm your house. Set a timer on your feelings, then get back to your work. Allowing every breaking news story doesn’t serve us, but focusing in allows the overwhelm to slide off our backs as we bend down to get close and lift those around us.

Go scream.

Now, get back to work.

We’ve got this.