I took a call at 6:00am. My consulting and coaching work doesn’t usually start so early but these
are not ordinary times. So, I care for myself in ways that allow me to be responsive when
needed. Crisis calls from social sector leaders are a regular part of my day. Ethical, responsible
leaders working to craft moral, compassionate responses in the midst of an onslaught of
financial attacks and political bullying. I stick with those who still care. And it’s really okay to say
“I’m brokenhearted and fried to a crisp.”

Here’s the thing about prolonged chaos and dread – it will make you accept any outcome just to
have the “oh my god what next” feeling stop. Any form of control or compromise will feel
worth it if you can have small guarantees and a momentary end to uncertainty.

But.

There is no real remedy for all these assaults on your nervous system. These ongoing threats –
inflation, collapse, wars, deportations, canceling, shortages, funding cancellations, budget
deficits and the steady creeping loss of all you’ve built.

We are drowning in economic, social, and political insecurities. Collective and individual.

We must find a way to breathe through it. Be together. Think together. Feel our way forward by
making routine what is routine – do the daily. AND…

And consider how we will help one another through the excruciating events. We have it in us to
find a way forward together no matter what happens now or next.

Every step you take to strengthen your network of friends and loved ones, to extend the bonds
of community is a bulwark against loss. We have one another and we are enough.

I wrote this for me as I deal with sadness that comes from witnessing this giant unraveling.