5 ways to honor RBG

Like so many, I’ve been processing the news of Ruth Bader Ginsberg’s death. After melatonin induced, and still, troubled sleep, I woke late and started the day in my usual fashion; I snuggled my dogs and went downstairs for my morning sit. Quiet time with no plan, to sip my coffee, and contemplate by candlelight. And I thought about Ruth, a woman I’ve never met, who I am grieving, and the ways to honor her legacy. 

1. Feel.

   As children, we’re ideally given the environment and tools to identify and express our emotions. I’d say my toolbox was built half full, and the rest I’ve had to gather throughout my adult years. I have to catch myself when I repress my feelings and distract from my emotions(hello, doom-scrolling👋). Instead, I sit, talk out loud to my dogs, meditate, and cry. In the last 24 hours alone, I’ve felt; numb, heartbroken, defeated, terrified, and inspired. It hurts, but dammit, I’m here, and I’m moving through it. What tools do you have, which ones are you still acquiring, and how can you feel? To keep Ruth’s fight alive, it requires feeling so that we can continue to show up, exhausted at times, and whole, in all our messy, human glory. 

2. Persist.
   There’s no way around it; life has been heavy. For the last six months, I’ve struggled to write in my blog and even in my journal. I’ve done things I never anticipated, protesting in a pandemic with my mom, ordering merch to support the USPS, and examining my privilege’s depths. It’s not nearly enough, and yet; it’s progress that I intend to keep building upon. How can we channel Ruth’s strength to stay awake, and persist with passion? How can we care for ourselves and remain dedicated and determined to fight systemic racism, sexism, and injustice?

3. Express.
   Losing Ruth has reminded me of the uncomfortable truth of impermanence. That nothing lasts forever, and that our agency lies in the present moment. It’s a call to action to do the things we love while we can, to speak up, and take action around the issues important to us. How can we use our unique strengths to express ourselves, and spark change at this moment in time?

4. Vote.
   Like our lives, freedoms and democracy depend on it, because they do. Beyond the ballot, consider; how I am voting with my time, money, and energy? Are my choices aligned with my values, and if not, what needs to change? 

5. Lastly, dissent.
   Dissent by caring for yourself and your community amongst the chaos. Find pockets of joy within a sea of despair. After a good and a hearty cry this morning, I walked my dog Ella and enjoyed the September sunshine, stopped to snap a photo in some flowers, and then meandered to a yard sale where I bought antique bird art. We dissent by getting up each day, renewing our energy, and refusing to stop living with eyes wide open to the delight and the pain. Rebel by allowing your grief to transform you, and using those feelings, that energy as a bludgeon for change. Remember Ruth’s words:

"Real change, enduring change, happens one step at a time."

Last month in Woodstock, NY