Neighborfully: Re-Purposing
Hello, You -
This is Neighborfully, your weekly email update on the Neighborful Cinematic Universe. It's such a joy to be here with you - and to Sabina, Kristen, Mary Anne, and Jeff, our newest subscribers, a very warm welcome!
Neighborful Idea: Re-Purposing
This past Saturday, I had a lovely day with friends, celebrating a big birthday. Some of us had known each other for decades, and some of us were meeting for the first time. It's a magical experience when you gather friends from different parts of your life, and you get to watch them fit together effortlessly. As one of the friends in the mix, I felt so lucky to be there.
I had a spring in my step when I got home that evening, and then I hopped online and caught up on the news. The spring vanished like it had never been there.
I get a lot of email newsletters, and I've watched people navigate this week a bunch of different ways. Here's mine:
Abolish đ§. Now.
My heart aches for the family and friends of Alex Pretti, Renee Good, Keith Porter Jr., and everyone else who is being harmed by ICE. May the memories of the dead be a blessing, and may we all strengthen our resolve to bring justice to our time.
As I keep saying each weeknight, none of this planned to spend our one wild and precious life on this nonsense. We had other plans. In many ways, we are still clinging to those plans, hoping against hope that we still get to pursue them, and that the horrors in our news feeds will keep a safe distance from us.
But injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.
Many of you have reached out to me in recent days. Our struggle is real, and I don't think it's going away anytime soon, even if the ringleaders change, even if our political leaders briefly find their own spines. This is our reality - for now.
Neighborful Station is about what we do next.
We cannot find our way to peace and justice without hope - and that hope needs to be as solid in our hearts as the ground beneath our feet. We need to be able to touch it, to feel its warmth, to breathe it in.
Take a moment, just now, and remember a moment from your life when you knew that you were going to be okay. It could be the day you got a new job or a big promotion you'd been wanting. It could be the day one of your kids was born, or the day you returned to hiking after recovering from an injury. Find that moment, locate the deep hope within it, and give yourself a comforting breath.
My purpose is to invite you back to your own hope in these dark times. I have wobbled this week, I have doom-scrolled, and I have melted down. I am very much with you in this muck, believe me. But this sense of purpose is a renewable energy source. I am re-purposing myself every day. It's hard work. But you and I are worth it. We are worth it.
Thank you for all that you are doing for your neighbors and loved ones right now. Thank you for feeding your kids, for educating yourself, and for all the ways you are finding to say, "This is not okay, and we will win." I am so grateful for all the ways you are showing up, especially when it's this hard. â¤ī¸đ
TONIGHT: The Neighborful Goodnight
I am hosting The Neighborful Goodnight weeknights from Monday through Friday. Take 10 minutes at the end of your day and get ready for some good rest - not by ignoring these very hard times, but by connecting with your own hope once again.
â°: 9:00p ET, 8:00p CT
đģ: Live stream on YouTube
đī¸: Add a reminder to your calendar
We do a meditation together reflecting on the love that surrounds us, and then I share a bedtime story from Neighborful Station.
Folks are reporting better sleep after they join us for these gatherings. Please feel free to share this invite with anyone who may need it. I will continue hosting the show through the month of February at a minimum. See you tonight.
Next Tuesday: Kitchen Cabinet
Each month at Neighborful Station, we hold a Kitchen Cabinet meeting online, in which our paying subscribers help me figure out what stories we will tell from our town in the next month. This meeting is always a real joy for everyone who attends, and it just might be my favorite thing about this project.
The Kitchen Cabinet for choosing our March episodes will take place this Tuesday, February 3rd, at 8:00p Eastern. Invites are going out this morning to all Town Founder paying subscribers. If you haven't yet signed up as a Town Founder, you can join now with a monthly or annual subscription, and I'll make sure you receive the invite for Tuesday.
This Week in Neighborful Station
Our latest episode is Claire's Birthday (Apple)(Spotify). On a snowy Saturday afternoon, you join the celebration of baby Claire's first full trip around the sun, and find yourself receiving a gift, instead of giving one. âđđ
Coming up tomorrow: Winter Picnic. Your neighborhood stages its first block party of the year, out in the snow and the cold. You get to snack on some elote, and you enjoy an improvised dance party in the street. âđŊđĒŠ
Wish of the Week
May you remember that we are in this together, and we will find our way through this together.