We just elected Donald Trump as the next President of the United States.

This is real.

What do we do now? Courage.

This is for those of you who feel the urge to do something, but don’t know what to do. This is not a requirement. I encourage you to sit and stay with the emotions you feel as you feel them. That being said, for those of you that this does not feel triggering for, I want to ever-so-gently push your buttons.

Apathy and avoidance is what got us to where we are now.

We are not going to move forward with more apathy and avoidance, okay? We are not going to solve our problems with the same kind of divisive thinking that created them.

Are you feeling rage? Cool. Channel that into openness and capacity for all of the people around you who are marginalized (this may include yourself.) Here’s what we can do:

• Let’s take our blindfolds off and witness this country for what it is. There are a lot of horrible things that we need to look straight in the face right now. We don’t move forward unless every single light is on and we know what we are working with. And remember, hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that. Darkness cannot drive out dark, only light can do that. (Thanks MLK.)
• Channel your nervous energy into generating ideas. Grab three friends, set a timer for thirty minutes, and make a rule to sit for that time and generate only positive ideas. Brainstorm ways that you can educate yourself on the institutional oppression in this country, or how social movements are born, or how courage works. Brainstorm ways that you can serve your OWN community (location or identity based). Brainstorm ways that you can, with humility, seek to be helpful to other communities.
• ABOVE ALL, BE KIND. Want to be really revolutionary? Be loving. Want to be subversive? Share kindness. That’s what the world needs right now. You are a light-worker. Use that responsibility.

I know so many of you are feeling so revolutionary right now. And I just want you to take a moment, wherever you are, to memorize this feeling. This is what activism feels like. Don’t let this be a time when you posted on the internet about wanting to make a difference in the world and then didn’t. Let this be the time that you reached out to friends, and together, you came up with ideas and actually took some gd ACTION.

DO. NOT. FORGET. THIS. DAY.

Let’s rise.

Annika