When Texas becomes Democratic can we call it New Texas?

Happy Easter

Normally I wouldn’t have this level of confidence, but I grew up in Marin County- which, you may or may not have heard of but, it’s some what of an elite society. I had the pleasure of growing up amongst a ‘functional community’ with mega millions in the late 90’s, and the recreational spaces to prove it. Me? oh no honey, I didn’t have the money but I did live on a Southern Baptist Seminary which all the kids at school could only understand as a cemetery. Even though this is where I spent my formative years I had a deep sense of not belonging. In California, to promote equality, they bus kids from low income (mostly nonwhite) neighborhoods to fully parent supported and funded schools in very nice neighborhoods (coincidentally, all white). I knew with every inch of my soul that my life wasn’t anything like the kids at schools lives, but living in proximity was beneficial enough and I observed how to live like money was not an obstacle. I watched from the side lines as my peers grew up in glorious privilege and all I could do was catch the occasional spillage, and even that was exquisite.

So why New Texas? And how’d I even end up in Texas? Well, Texas was more affordable and offered a civil servant job to my husband in a progressive city. As much as many outside of Texas would like to believe Texas is actually full of diversity, that has shaped the culture in tangible ways. Our legislation continues to be an actual nightmare but the people of Texas are living under the oppression the rest of our country is about to feel. Living in Texas makes me feel like I am boots on the ground in the midst of our modern day battle of ending our violent cycles and holding institutions accountable to the destruction we’ve done by centering white culture and quietly serving supremacy.

While the world falls apart my little rural town has finally hit its stride. We are growing and building and it’s basically like moving but never having to leave. I recently found out that they are building city hall and the new big beautiful library in the field across the highway, putting my house walkable distance to the the new city center, a wish i’ve always had and now, by chance, it’s happening. While children are dying at beyond alarming rates I live in a city that has pledged to develop as equitably as possible. Our town has been working hard this last decade to put ourself on the map and everyday we see the progress of hard work building up all around us.

To live in rural Texas in the time of Trump, under the most wackadoodle politicians in the country- while producing some of the most progressive new members of the Senate and Congress is a mental loop-de-loop. Texas is fighting and we’ve been fighting this culture war of projecting one Texas, while living in a diverse and rich culture that is thriving because it’s not based in politics, it exists despite of politics. My friends, this is where our minds need to be. We can create little pockets of the new way to live and in those pockets of community, sharing will be the thing to sustain you. I used to believe this kind of community only exited in Church, but I’ve proven myself wrong tenfold.

After sobering myself up from communion and abstaining from church for over a decade I have finally landed in a more neutral place. I have reached a place where I feel more confident in my perspective of others regardless of race, religion or creed. There is a new way to live and it’s right here, right now. It’s volunteering in the school in your neighborhood.

It’s about taking the next best step and ensuring you have a routine that meets your needs along the way. It’s being thankful for the opportunity to put jelly on toast, exactly the way you like it and indulging in simple, often free, treasures of time.

I love a good routine and, my friend, right now is absolute bonkers. If we live in response to the news cycle or the ways culture is advancing and breaking we will loose it. Try doing something once a week, once a day, make taking your meds a sacred act of devotion. In any way we need to weave hope into the very fabric of our lives because this is life outside of killing and stealing. There is life in young children learning how to read and growing up with minds capable of critical thinking. It is not what happens that will traumatize us, it’s our response. Now is the time to indulge in ceremony, even if its just a walk to the mail box. To be able to create comfort in this chaos is to create actual magic. We are not bound to what our crumbling government can do. We have tangible evidence of people who’s lives are falling apart, people who are being bombed relentlessly with our taxes dollars, we have every piece of evidence we need to acknowledge the world we knew is falling apart, and yet, babies still laugh. Joy is still found, the sun still sets in the most magnificent ways. WTF.

I’ve seen what it is to live in a creative, vibrant, art valuing community that protects the environment, believes love is love, and provides community enrichment. I’ve seen it, I’ve lived it, it’s beautiful. The ultra rich are living beautiful lives that smell of sweet salty air, bay leaves and a morning full of yoga. It’s heaven on earth, but it’s hard for me to meditate there when I know what it looks like now for the most vulnerable in our society to be slowly stripped of their funding and support. We need to understand that hope will not come from a politician, or a geographical location but that it is in our hope for a future that values children, that values healing, and values the cultures and every exquisite piece of humanity that each person brings to the table. I hope this Easter you find an egg, and I hope that egg has just what you needed to make it through today.