Deep Breaths

Needless to say, I'm speechless. And heartbroken, truly.
For the latter half of this week, I've been suspended in a state of disbelief. I've been going through the motions, but it's felt absurdly surreal in the light of such a ... a tremendous turn of events. I don't need to elaborate–I'm sure you've felt the same.
In an effort to grasp at making sense of it all, I've read and read and read some more.  I've also, you know, ruminated and wallowed and hid in bed and imagined so many scary scenarios that'd face the President in the next four years and got REAL shaky. Every blog post taking a stand, every defensive Facebook post, SO many angry Tweets, so many Medium articles seeking to console by way of listing presidential limitations, every slightly hopeful message clinging onto any semblance of light during this bleak time. Some called for unity, others espoused the need to stay furious, to say no to complacency. I've seen those who have accepted the results with bitter resignation in the name of democracy, and others still hanging onto any fight that could possibly have been left unfought. I've dug into the why's and the how's. I've pored over words from both sides–disparaging and desperate and wanting to be heard, wanting the other side to. just. understand.
And yet, I still don't understand. I'll keep reading. (If you'd like to as well, my favorites have included: Senator Warren's thoughts, Leslie Knope's letter to America, let's get to work, Tyler's piece, Taylor's blog post & the comments section, and many, many more eloquent, heartfelt opinions in newspapers and Facebook walls alike) But for now, I think the most important thing of all is to keep educating ourselves and others, practice empathy, protect each other, and use this as an impetus to act where action is so desperately needed. Inspired by The West Wing, it's time for us all to get up and face the question,
What's next. PS. In the name of Thanksgiving (and of doing what I can ahead of the crash-and-burn), I'm choosing 2 or 3 organizations from this list to make small donations to. Please let me know if you're aware of similar lists, or compelling articles worth a read!