comeonhelene

[comeonhelene]

Elk Mountain Scenic Highway - AVL NC - April 2025

What we know in our heads is not always workable until we get it down in our hearts. The heart is the very core of us, and the spirit is vital. Some call it the subconscious, the file room of our experiences and beliefs, and the substance of who we are. Sometimes, we file things in this inner storage that are not to our benefit - fear for the most part. Fear is the subtle destroyer of the human spirit. But there are other things there as well. Some of it is information we neither remember nor even know we have recorded. Like old files, it needs to be cleaned out. But how can we clean out what we do not know we have? By self-monitoring, by plumbing the depths in writing, drawing out our own thoughts the way we prime an old pump to draw out water. It takes honesty spiked with a good sense of humor. Getting to know oneself is worth the effort.

- A Cherokee Feast of Days by Joyce Sequichie Hifler

Again… I recall the great vision you sent me. It may be that some root of the sacred tree still lives.

- Black Elk 1912

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My phone just reminded me of my solo retreat last year at St. Christopher's on Seabrook Island. This estuary of the Edisto River has one of the largest pelican rookeries in the U.S. The dolphins, who sometimes swam alongside me during my walks on the shore(!), also strand feed on the beach. The trees are particularly wind and weather worn, washing natural treasures ashore back in 1989 during Hurricane Hugo. That area of the shoreline is called "The Boneyard" due to the many weather-worn trees that are now white as bones.

In short, Seabrook Island is magical.

Remembering this little slice of peace at sunset along the shoreline makes me breathe deeply and feel more at peace. I hope it's helpful for you, too.

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Unbelievable. I didn't know that executive orders to butcher our national forests were officially signed 8 days ago. I have no clue how I missed this, so that only adds to the gut punch.

The Fix Our Forest Act will do anything but. It's designed to make it easier to log our precious national parks in order to line the pockets of the Broligarchy and their p*ss-poor pals.

So, where do we begin?

Should we chain ourselves to the oldest tree we can find in Pisgah National Forest?

Maybe we'll take part in demonstrations and protests in Pack Square full time.

Perhaps we could move to red counties across WNC so we can make inroads with the opposition.

While there, I can shout Betty Friedan quotes from "The Feminine Mystique" on a mountaintop. They would be the same lines that bored my 8th grade classmates to tears during our middle school graduation performance. (It was super-duper popular to be "activist-y" back then... yeah, notsomuch.)

Of course, this chaos is by design. The fascists in D.C. seek to overwhelm and wear us down. But they can't, and they won't.

For starters, there are far more of us than them.

Next, we just need to tend to our corner. Our corner is our immediate sphere of influence. They are folks in our neighborhoods, work, schools, churches, friend groups, and families, et al. If we invest in these people and places, our commitments to truth-telling, social and environmental justice, and genuine, compassionate connectivity will ripple outwards.

Like a patchwork quilt, if we all tend to our corners, we will change our nation together.

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If you or someone you know has a speaking relationship with a government official who can enact positive change, please encourage them to do so.

We must also remember these ambassadors, while privileged with access and agency, are equally burdened with the responsibility of having to brave hard conversations with people in positions of power. That is not an easy road to travel, and it's often a lonely one. Comrades, those courageous folks are especially deserving of our support right now.

There are quite a few of these people in D.C. and all around the country, even right here in WNC. However, there's definitely not enough to advocate for our non-negotiables and human rights.

Are you interested in being a changemaker? Maybe reach out to a group in your town that aligns with your values and go from there.

Y'all, please don't bury your heads in the sand. We've gotta eat this elephant one bite at a time. Believe you me, besides mixing metaphors like it's my part-time job, I'm reminding myself of this, too. Sometimes hourly.

Do what you can, with what you have, when you can. Nothing more. Nothing less.

Slay the day, my friends <3

Florence + The Machine - Shake It Out

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This is INSANE. This is CRIMINAL.

These four Democratic traitors need to lose their jobs STAT. For shame:

Maine. I love you, but are you still the way life should be? Really? Jared Golden backs Republican bill to require proof of citizenship when registering to vote

I've felt welcomed by you too many times to count, Washington, so I'm sorry to hear that you've got one self-hating woman on your hands. Wow: Republicans target Southwest Washington Rep. Gluesenkamp Perez as vulnerable Democrat in midterms - OPB

From Houston to Austin, I like your look, but this doesn't look good on you, Texas: U.S. Rep. Chip Roy’s SAVE Act passes House | The Texas Tribune

Hawaii? An island founded by the matriarchy? WHAT IS HAPPENING? Hawaiʻi Rep. Ed Case Angers Democrats Over 'Proof Of Citizenship' Vote - Honolulu Civil Beat

I've visited all four of these states, and I never met a person who I think would agree with this utter malfeasance.

Thank God I didn't take my ex-husband's surname when we married. Apparently, I'm a part of only about 14% of the U.S. population. This is NOT good news for roughly 85% of all other married women. In fact, this is catastrophic news:

How The SAVE Act Could Impact Married Women And Other Voters

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WOMEN:

If you aren't horrified by this, then you aren't paying attention.

If you are paying attention and have a beating heart in your chest, we need to plan to stop... all of it. No working. No spending. No nothing. This country cannot run without our dollars or, more importantly, our labor. And we won't serve a country that's attempting to strip us of our rights and make us second-class citizens. We helped build this nation. We, the people on the margins, are the ones who will continue to pave the way to its reformation.

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MEN:

Is there a woman who's helped you in any way along your life's journey? Your mother? Your sister? Your aunt? Your wife? Your daughter? Your co-worker? Your neighbor? Your friend? A coach? A teacher?

* If so, it's high time you rise up and put your words into action. *

We have protested alongside you.

We have protested for you.

We have protested for ourselves.

Will you protest for us?

Now, that's a revolutionary thought. Would y'all be willing to help protect the rights of the women you love by speaking out and making good trouble at the local level and on the national stage?

American men, you should be as alarmed as we are about this, if not more so. Alongside slaves and "immigrants," you stand to lose the very people whose backs this country is built on.

DO SOMETHING.

DO ANYTHING.

We need for you to meet this moment in history alongside us.

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North Carolinians: Unfortunately, our spineless senators are Budd and Tillis. We can send our "thoughts and prayers" to them because, as far as I can tell, they don't give two flying forks about us... especially in WNC.

Nonetheless, I'm very much looking forward to bending the ears of a few of our state senators in Raleigh later this month. There'll be quite a bit to chat about. I have questions. And receipts.

Also, isn't our State Senator Julie Mayfield, the best? What a stellar human being. She does Buncombe County proud. We love Julie so much. I have no questions for her and only receipts of gratitude.

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HEED:

Paris Paloma - LABOUR (the cacophony)

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Sara Bareilles - King of Anything

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Well, there are strong people in all kinds of circumstances, but given my personal history, I'd say absolutely and hail yes.

Unrelated, but necessary, I want to start a woman's punk band called "Ben Orr's Lip Curl." I can play the ukulele and that's about it.

Why name a band after the deceased former (and *cough* - better - *cough*) lead singer of The Cars?

Because Exhibit A: Just What I Needed - The Cars | The Midnight Special

See what I mean?!

RIR you sexy beast, you.

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You are God's child. I am God's child.

Amen.

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I'm amazed by you, dear hearts. Every time I'm convinced the world is falling apart at the seams, there you are with your needle and thread.

Stitch by stitch, let's make today a sweet one. And a baptismal walk in the rain does the heart good... trust. Go get you some <3

Lizzo - Good As Hell

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Foundy Wedge - RAD NC - October 27, 2024

Ben Harper - I'll Rise Lyrics source: Still I Rise by Maya Angelou - Poems | Academy of American Poets

The Grief of Sharing Our Country

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I only dipped a toe or two into watching the many 6-month Helene-iversary retrospectives that are being broadcast today. While I know we're all tremendously grateful for the support this kind of exposure brings, it's also quite overwhelming to take in all of the stories and images from the days when our sweet city was brought to its knees.

The GMA segments snapped me right back to those times we've seen our friends and neighbors in the national news. I'll never forget Josh C's thousand-yard stare in the Washington Post clip. And one of our dearest friends, Laura R, was gracious and radiant, as always, in the CBS Sunday Morning Christmas segment. (All the love to the amazing Irani's for their ongoing generosity. I don't have to tell you that they're stouthearted folks.)

It takes immense guts and a profound love for our community for Ashevillians to talk about the traumas they've faced since Helene. Witnessing folks that I deeply respect and care about share the harrowing details of the darkest days of their lives, with mighty courage and beautiful vulnerability, and on a national scale no less, is a singular feeling that I'm not sure how to articulate.

While the storm retrospectives offer valuable insights for those outside our experience, for those of us who continue living through the 'Tour du Helene,' they can be deeply unsettling.

So, I'm going to leave these videos and resources posted for future reference, but if it helps you to know, I'm not watching them. Partly because, like you, I lived it. Also, because I realized today that I haven't seen quite a few photos and videos. The aerials are especially hard to look at. I've consumed my fair share of media about Helene, but maybe these "new to me" news packages aired while we were still deaf to the outside world? Either way, it's entirely too much to digest today... and maybe for a long while after that. And that's okay.

I'm going to take a cue from those early days after the storm by putting the electronics down so I can hear the birdsong again. I want to be fully present for the greening up of the mountains. And I definitely don't want to miss the bounty of blooms to come, either.

In case of emergency: Put your bare feet in the grass. Tilt your sweet face up to the sun. Take deep breaths. Repeat.

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“Lighthouses don’t go running all over an island looking for boats to save; they just stand there shining.” - Anne Lamott

Until next time, shine on, friends.

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Tim Reaves Photography [Credited and shared via Creative Commons]

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WNC Nature Center & Hurricane Helene

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Robin Roberts Visits Western North Carolina With A Major Gift And A Powerful Message

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