No. 37 - Stranger things, where you at?

Save for a few snippets of Amy Goodman this morning on her program Democracy Now!, I have not tapped in…not to the reading, the articles, the videos and pieces about the race, the elections, and I have also not watched the local news.

I have had a few exchanges with friends and family and there are a couple that stay with me tonight. One, a reminder from a colleague that Harris had at most three months to build a campaign whereas Trump had since he lost the previous election, so say eight to ten years. And, I also hold onto this message from a friend who shared that Harris pushed too much into identity politics, believing that pulling upon the heartstrings of Black voters, and Hispanic voters would drive her across the finish line.

What stays with me also today is a short note by Senator Bernie Sanders, where he uses the word ‘smart’ to describe Trump as a politician in an interview from a couple weeks back. We do not often see or acknowledge how effective Trump and conservative leaders have been, in concert with the media, in pushing into the mindspace of people so heavily and so successfully.

I’m thinking here of the last Trump campaign rally, for example. One might have thought that it would have been a turnoff towards many but he somehow tapped upon a ridge running through much of the U.S. populace. He has been able to reach people regardless of whether they truly agree with everything that comes from his direction. It is, to me, quite sad that so many supporters of his campaign believe that their salvation - political, financial, cultural–comes out of the sordid promise of what lies ahead.

Yesterday, though on the day the news broke that Donald R. Trump would be the next president of the United States, I bumped, very unexpectedly into the brilliant creative movement artist, Adia Whitaker of Ase Dance. We exchanged a quick hug, she asked me how I was doing, I think I said, I'm okay, and she said, you know, you're good, we’re good, we know how to shape-shift.

Shape-shift I did know how to do; and shape-shift I do know how to do. See yesterday, stirrings in our home began with me sprinkling frankincense and lavender essential oils around the house. With not much else in the fridge, I decided to finally bake four yams. I do not know about you, but yams bring the strength of those who have walked before us, in clear view for me. I did twenty minutes of yoga, made lemon tea for John, who was not feeling so well, and drank a few cups of water. I was shifting into a newer energetic, one that was supporting me in these feelings of uncertainty that were bubbling up.

Sometimes when I’m in brujeria mode, I tend to do all the things to buttress against what the day might bring, what the situation might bring. So yes, I also lit my last piece of palo santo, which lasted about as long as I held the fire to it, so not very long. I ironed a dress, decided against that opting for a short skirt made of denim and corduroy, a lavender leotard, and a long pink scarf. Your girl was in color.

This happy-nappy witch did all the things. Except I was missing something, coffee. I also managed to clean the tub and our mop because yeah that was something I obviously needed to do. But, was it coffee that I was missing? After eating just half a yam of the four that I baked, I wound up leaving the apartment hungry, and coffee-less.

I stopped at a new cafe in DUBMO. The Spanish-speaking barista remembered my name, after having made just one visit to the cafe. Ndingha he said softly. It’s with a Z, I said with a smile, realizing later I could have said, es con una zetta, the Spanish pronunciation of Z.  It was at the cafe that I realized as I looked through the choices of a variety of wraps that this little bruja needed some wicked, leafy green-level nutritious thing. I mean, capital G nutritious.

What are you missing in you? What haven’t you had in a minute that sets you right? What truly supports you in shifting shape as Whitaker suggests? What do you need at this moment? May we consider a new shape, a shifting into new parts of ourselves. May this new shape be the shape most suited for this singular time. May we tap into the unusual and the peculiar. Stranger things, where you at?

Tagged Under: #shapeshift #adiawhitaker #elections