It’s a little past my usual breakfast time. I open the pantry and decide on an English muffin. I pick the yellow serrated knife slicing it cleanly in half and pick up the crumbs left behind. I set out the butter and debate for a moment before settling on strawberry preserves. Breakfast is a ritual I enjoy. The house is quiet. My work day is yet to start. After the manic preparation of the morning and the yet to start madness that is a typical work day, breakfast is an oasis. I set my phone aside. I toast the muffin to perfection, slather on the softened butter and apply a think glaze of the preserve. I enjoy my food looking out the window and watching the remnants of snow glisten under the morning sun.
The world around me is disintegrating in real time. The government is being dismantled. Day after day, I wake up to news that should get my blood boiling (and some days it does) but I set aside the outrage to focus on my peace instead. I meticulously curate my feeds to be a mix of things I enjoy with very few minimum news handles on it. Instead, I have vetted sources of news that show up as alerts on my phone instead.
I have no idea what lies in store but I refuse to be afraid. I refuse to live in fear. Rest is resistance. Joy is resistance.
I will persist in finding moments through every day to find joy and peace. I will find it in the perfectly sliced English muffin. I will find it in the sole flower on my spider plant. I will find it in the coffee colored puppy picture on my phone. I will find it in the DnD campaigns my middle child writes. I will find it in the silly memes and reels my kdrama/kpop chingu sends. I will find it in the cartoons my world aware friend sends. I will find it in the recounting of the everyday details from my Amma.
Every day. Every single day. I will rest my heart and body. I will fill it with joy of the ordinary kind that cannot be taken away. I will find it in music, in afternoon naps, in books, on shows. I will find it on social media networks teaming with people from a culture I don’t know, speaking a language I don’t understand.
Then, when it is my turn to stand up and resist, I will show up rested, ready for battle.
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