Visible Mending Through Stories and Connections
As the Means "Sew" the End
Tracy here. I’ve been sending a regular email out to friends and family with things I’ve been experiencing and learning about our political situation. Last time I wrote about the power of people connecting and telling their personal stories, which is my true motivation for the emails.
Yesterday a diverse group of beloveds met in my living room to connect and share stories; ten humans with different identities navigating various stages of life. One is about to give birth to their first child while another has recently moved in with adult children to help raise the next generation. We are helping professionals, a retiree, a veteran, a teacher, a program manager, a digital marketer, and a master naturalist/gardener. We hold a common thread of contemplative practice and an intention to “find steady ground” in an unfamiliar political landscape.
Our theme this time was “protecting people and beings” and we did so through learning a new skill. It wasn’t lost on me that the skill we practiced, visible mending, could be a metaphor for what is emerging as more citizens awaken to the consequences of this administration’s harmful actions. With a little optimism, one might view the videos of rallies and town hall meetings across the country where ordinary people are standing up as imperfect stitches pulling together a tear in our social fabric.
Some in our group arrived with elaborate sewing kits and mad needle skills. Others had never touched a spool of thread. As we shared knowledge and resources, I was delighted to realize we are returning to the way we connected pre-pandemic - intimately, in the flesh, in a circle. I found it very encouraging, though not surprising, that there was so much laughter amidst all we are holding. Many possibilities for mutuality and support emerged. I’m looking forward to what our next gathering might offer.
I learned the last time around (the hard way) that my love of learning, pursuit of knowledge, and value of truth would not protect us. I’d probably swung too far in that direction with all my years of formal education. Now I’m balancing that with another truth - that stories hold great power.
Here on Substack I was moved by the brave and yet somehow familiar story (as it could be any of us here in the Midwest) of federal worker Jason Poe of Ohio, reminding us that the staggering statistics we’re hearing about are actual human beings doing jobs we believe in. With the support of another’s kindness, Jason was able to overcome societal (likely generational) challenges and earn his education and a job with the EPA cleaning up environmental pollution at one of the three original sites of the Manhattan Project. He is one of the many Americans who work for the federal government.
My heart trembled when I witnessed Security Conference Chairman, Christophe Heusgen brought to tears after the US Vice President stirred the story of trauma that remains from the still visible remnants of the terrible but important lessons of World War II in European countries. We don’t have those visible remnants here in the US. Some people have bypassed and in some cases even denied the truth of that (hi)story. Heck, we haven’t even reckoned with historic atrocities on our own soil, which I and many others believe is a big part of the mess we’re currently in.
In the spirit of story telling, I’ll share a bit of my own story as well as what I’m experiencing in this region and my personal reflections. I’ll also pass along some resources and opportunities.