Rain Perry

Planner

Until I get the official version of this being designed by the talented Kayleigh Morrison, please feel free to use plain paper for daily tracking. Doodle around the edges if you like!

This is not a checklist at which to fail or succeed -- it's a touchstone to use as you like. It's worth keeping filled-up pages in a box or a binder to review later for inspiration and pride.

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Connection: Let's take back some of what we've lost to social media by asking "who will I connect with for real today?" In person is best, but a phone call is also good. A private message via social media is still more personal than a public "like." Or what about a hand written or typed letter?

Community: In one way, a community is simply "a group of people having common interests." But the nature and benefits of community are complex and extensive. This excellent piece asserts that "members of a community have a sense of trust, belonging, safety, and caring for each other. They have an individual and collective sense that they can, as part of that community, influence their environments and each other."

What can I do today to reinforce a sense of community in my life?

Love: from a kind gesture to a stranger, to romantic love, to the radical notion of loving one's enemies expressed in this sermon by Martin Luther King, Jr. - expressions of love are a powerful counterforce against hate and fear. Was there a moment today when you were able to express love, especially when it was difficult to do?

Joy: this essay by Joan Westenberg is worth returning to again and again, but for our purposes here, scroll down to the section called "Start Small" about "micro-optimisms," or "deliberate wins that compound." Do a small thing that brings you true joy, then check it off. It adds up. Plus, if you save these pages, you'll end up with a great list of "micro-optimisms" you can deploy when you really need them.

Serenity: two concepts here. The first is the mental calm achieved by prayer, meditation, sitting quietly while knitting, patting the dog -- something that works for you that you can do any time. The second is the challenge of truly practicing the Serenity Prayer in order to be effective in difficult times.

Creativity: every one of us has the ability to make something that wasn't there before. Creation is the opposite of destruction, and it has power. What will you create today? It could be a verse of a punk rock song, some pictures gathered for a vision board, a great breakfast burrito, a few rows of a sweater. It could be a new exercise technique, a sand castle, an idea for a community action, or a balanced stack of rocks on a desk. They all push back against cynicism and despair.

Art: Creating something is key to a sense of personal strength, but appreciating the creative work of others is also vital. After the election, the first person that Stacey Abrams interviewed on her podcast Assembly Required was musician Rhiannon Giddens, because she feels that music is one of the most important facets of any social movement . A great painting transports. Dance inspires. Music saves us and powers movements.

Grief: No way around it: there is a lot to grieve, so let's embrace it. What do you mourn for today? What do you feel you or we have lost? Be specific and thorough.

Good Trouble: If ever the concept "think globally, act locally" rang true, it's now. We will see attacks on undocumented residents, the environment, the rule of law, and many more issues not yet on on our radar. None of us can put out every fire, hard as that may be to accept. But we can't let that stop us from putting out the fires we can.

(Important: if you are organizing, especially if you are in a marginalized group, do not communicate on social media, even in private groups. Use Signal or another secure platform, or meet in person.)

This technique, which I discovered in this essay by Daniel Hunter, is an excellent way to get real about what you are willing and able to do. Quadrant Four is very difficult for well meaning folks, but necessary. (No need to do this every day or even every week, but it's useful to return to it regularly.)