Sunday Soul-Tending
Six areas of focus for crafting a path + a community ritual
Join me tomorrow, Sunday, March 2nd at 10am PST | 1pm EST | 6pm UK for an hour of soul-tending in community. The registration link and details are below.
The day after the election, I processed my grief-fear in part by writing a piece I called Entering the Darkness. I needed to move out of sobbing and into some structure to begin organizing my thoughts, so I named six areas on which I would focus to clarify the path ahead.
A lifetime later, I want to share those six points with you again, as I find that they’re still applicable. (The longer descriptions can be found here.) We’ll explore these themes on Sunday morning in our upcoming monthly gathering, along with a community ritual to acknowledge the weight of all that we’re being forced to witness, experience, and hold.
We are strengthened through community when our grief and fear is witnessed, and our individual agency can be reflected back, mirrored until it is amplified. We can begin to remember that we are not as small as we are encouraged to feel and not nearly as alone.
If this list is helpful as a guide, print it off and keep it near you. Fill in answers to make it specific to you and helpful on days when you need reminders.
A simple structure to help clarify the path ahead
Take care of yourself. What are areas of vulnerability to which you need to pay particular attention? What can you do—or not do—to emphasize your well being?
Choose one creative project to commit yourself to in a sustained way. What is asking to come into being through you? What will help to restore your spirit day after day?
Choose one area of activism, one cause, to which you feel particularly drawn, and commit yourself to that one thing for the long term. What is the area of advocacy that most calls to you? In what ways can you contribute to this specific work? Where are the organizations and groups already forming around this cause?
Practice going underground and develop an intentional persona. What protections do you need to stay safe? What masks do you need to wear, and with whom?
Lean into history, mythology, and science fiction. What histories and stories help you to see courage in action and imagine that another world is possible? How can they guide you?
Lean into love. What or who helps you remember to love in the most challenging moments?
I look forward to seeing many of you on Sunday.
Tomorrow, Sunday, March 2nd at 10 am PST | 1pm EST | 6pm UK
One hour of a community workshop and ritual
Registration link below—beyond the paywall. Please join us live if you can! A replay will also be available for paid subscribers if you can’t be there.
If finances prohibit you from being able to join, reply to this email or send me a brief note at satyadoylebyock @ substack.com. I’m happy to offer a complimentary subscription.
If you are already a paid subscriber, there is no additional fee to attend; these monthly workshops are a perk of your subscription. Just scroll down to register!