A small selection of things I have written down
"The very idea of America makes me shake and tremble and gives me nightmares." -- Josephine Baker
How do we hold a potentially infinite number of stories about a place or concept like America? The story of a prosperous immigrant family, the story of a from poor to rich white family from the midlands, the story of a struggling black family in Alabama.
How do we hold all of these stories at the same time? None more or less real than the next, but all incomplete. In describing America, we are all the blind/ men grasping different parts of the whole elephant.
America is the patchwork of all of these stories, but they are messier than independent but adjacent squares. Some overlap, covering pieces of the one that lies partially below. Learning and exploring America and American history is a process of peeling back layers to discover the fullness of the stories beneath. Uncovering stories long-buried.
Subway Commute Meditation (Casper Ad Parody)
It is a crowded subway train. You are likely to be late for work.
First step: breathe. Pay attention to the sensations in your body, and in your neighbor's body pressed against your shoulder.
Feel the train vibrations deep in your bones. The rocking of your feet. Your awareness is key to keeping your balance.
When you inevitably stop in the tunnel, remember that it is because a very old signal system is trying to keep you safe. Signal bodhisattvas. Repeat this mantra until you find calm.
Remember that the conductor, too, desires to be happy and get paid to go to work like anyone else, but his job involves your safety too. Flash on interdependence.