We started off 2026 with great hopes. Maybe this year would be different. Maybe things would finally start to change again, for the better.
And then… Venezuela. And then… Renee Good.
With this current administration, it’s always a new outrage, a new spectacle, always a new something horrible shoved in your face, each one more awful than the last.
And so I am cocooning.
I am spending the time I used to spend doomscrolling the news reading books instead. I am taking that space that he has been occupying in my brain for the last year, and allocating it instead to something else good, something beautiful. Something affirming.
It’s not that I’m tuning out the news entirely. I still check once a day to see what’s going on in the world, like a meerkat popping his head above the Earth to search for predators. But then I withdraw back to my safe place, to take care of myself and those around me.
It’s not so much as an abdication as a chance to recharge, to remind myself what is real and true and good in this world, in the face of so much awfulness.
We’re also cocooning in a more physical sense. For the first time since 2015, Mark and I will soon own a house again – it’s been a long, hard struggle to get here, and is only possible through favorable circumstances and the assistance of close family members. We feel blessed by the love of those around us.
In about two months, we will be in our new place, which I hope will bring us stability, comfort, and peace.
I’ve been giving a lot of thought to the idea of stability over these last few months. The world that we live in is so unstable right now. The forces of chaos keep pushing it toward the edge, and just when we think we’ve seen the worst, things sink to a stunning new low.
And yet, when I go outside the front door, I see the same welcoming little neighborhood, the same people walking, running and cycling by with their dogs and their kids, waving at me as they pass.
The sun still shines in the sky, the flowers still bloom, and the whole stench of politics evaporates as if it never existed.
Life goes on.
Still, that doesn’t mean any of us should abdicate responsibility entirely. There may not be a whole lot we can do right now, other then take care of ourselves and those around us. We have to bide our time and build up our strength for the moment when action is once again possible.
I have to believe that time is coming.
So for now, I’m cocooning, recharging, and trying to enfold those around me in a spirit of love, warmth, and acceptance. We have to remind ourselves that good still exists. That there is beauty in this world. And that brave souls can stand up for what is right – must stand up – even if the cost is high.
We have to celebrate our heroes and our martyrs. Renee Good, I see you.
So take the time you need and do what you have to do, to keep yourself whole. Take care of yourselves out there. Things will change again, I promise. And we need to be ready to rise to the moment when it comes.
Love to you all.