| It’s been a (another) big week in the news. How are you feeling about it all? Can you name the emotions that arise? Sad, overwhelmed, distressed, angry and powerless are words that come to mind as we think about the violence and trauma we’re seeing in our feeds alongside recipes and ads for the most recent thing you searched for. Modern day prophet Cole Arthur Riley in her post on Black Liturgies, wrote that our souls are disturbed because they are still intact. So that’s something.  It’s crazy making, I feel like I’m living in some sort of parallel universe and, I understand the instinct to close your eyes and look away, to freeze and numb it. If you are a trauma survivor, to engage with it will be activating, no doubt. And so many of us have experienced trauma. And we wonder, why engage? What does sharing a post or an image even do? Perhaps nothing, perhaps something. I tend to my own nervous system healing (the work of my life really) and engage when I’m able. When I do, I listen to the voices of those who are living this nightmare, who are from the region, those who have lived through occupation and horror as part of their nation, culture, family story. As I wrote when I tried to give words to this back in February, if we are white and/or Western, we must become comfortable being led by people other than us. Paying attention helps me cling to my humanity. Sarah Wilson wrote a powerful Substack article this week, read it only if you are feeling resilient, but she referred to the moral injury we are experiencing. Which is the term we use for “the psychological, social and spiritual impact of events involving betrayal or transgression of one’s own deeply held moral beliefs and values occurring in high stakes situations.” We feel betrayed, she says, we are trying to make sense of it all. Again from Cole: I so love these questions.  What sensations are awake in your body today? What is one thing you can do? Perhaps this is not the day for you to engage with the pain of the world, but come back to us when you can. Rest and repair is essential and an act of advocacy and resistance all of its own. Talk with people who share your values if you’re able, with those can hold nuance and avoid black and white thinking. Take care of yourself. If you’d like to make a counselling appointment in-person in Marrickville or online (Telehealth), you can book in here. |
Queer communion
6 June 2023
Queer communion & the imprint of the divine. It’s PRIDE month and I’m so grateful for the many glorious queer
