I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say that most of our community is deeply in grief right now, dearest readers. And one refrain I keep hearing a lot is ‘how can we keep on going when this is happening?’ Well, I have a always tried to keep my blog posts on topic. So I will not stray from the topic of magic or concepts like metacognition—because that is fundamentally what this blog is about. I am also not going to kid myself into thinking I ‘must’ utilize my ‘platform’ to promote my own agenda. I already do that to a lesser extent. 

But, I also seriously doubt people who need convincing will be on this blog in the first place, and mentally primed to take the words of a queer woman of color seriously. So I don’t feel a need to waste my breath trying to ‘convince’ people in politics in this space. And thus, you will not see that sort of content here. Instead, I am going to use this week’s post to address the idea of living in times like these. 

Time Never Stops

For those of you who are younger or have had especially good fortune, I do regret to inform you that time continues. And it never stops. Time is not swayed by how much tragedy you have found lately, nor by your grief and emotional duress. Seconds pass. Minutes pass. And by their virtue so do the hours, the days, and the weeks and the months. You will still need to eat and drink to survive. Your vehicle will still need gas. And your bills will still come due—in whatever form they may take. Those of you still in school will find that your classes continue, and your homework will as well—until those programs are cut and then your tuition bill will still arrive. 

For those of you who have your own children—they will still need to bathe, to dress, and to eat. You will still need to ferry them about. And these facts are not at all changed or influenced by your feelings, or by theirs. 

And there is no reason for you to feel guilty over these facts of life. You will still occasionally indulge in your escapes and your hobbies. And some of you will no doubt feel so overwhelmed by what is happening that you will want it all to end. Even though I am a mental health professional, I do not cross that line and act in that capacity on this blog. If you think you need help, please seek it out. But, know: 

The burden of all survivors is to bear witness to the passage of time for those that have gone before us. Someone must meet the future where it blurs into our present, and carry the torch of our ancestors onwards. As living beings, that is our number one priority at all times—to live. 

One Step at a Time

All I can ask of my dearest readers is to remember these things. There will be terrible times—because all of time is filled with the heartbeats of the wicked as well as the good. But, you will still have needs. And you will still have small joys. And you will sometimes laugh and smile. And you need not feel any guilt for that. It is what it is—no matter how unjust and unreasonable. 

Now, some people may demand that we do ‘more.’ But shifting responsibility onto others through a keyboard is much easier than doing anything else. If you can care for one person and save one person—it can be you. And if you are afraid, that is fine. And if you, like me, are a literal medical and logistical weakness and liability due to your physical ailments in any protest or violent situation—that is fine. You are allowed to exist. We are allowed to exist. And it doesn’t diminish the work that we do. 

I am a creator of Little Joys—but sometimes people need Little Joys to keep on going. So I have pride in what I do. The horrors may persist. But, so do bookmarks and stickers of stupid toads–because I make them.

And we are, all of us, living archives of our own history. And that by itself is honorable. How much has been destroyed because people forget their own history and then prettily paint over it–because it was too ugly for comfort? Too much, by too many. It is both our duty and our burden to hold this history in our minds and hearts to preserve–lest they forget again. History, by its nature, needs mouthes to retell it.