Love Dares Us
Photo credit: Peter Christoph Photography
“Look at you Stephie with the Susie Sunshine vibes!” Meg said to me after I had deposited a nugget of wisdom via text in our best friend group chat, without which we’d all surely be doomed. We had been discussing the events of January the 6th and our bewilderment was mutual. We talked of people who were trying to excuse this insurrection by comparing it to BLM protests. I just don’t know what to say to that. Sometimes, an argument is just not worth having because the breath you will use for it is energy that might be better spent. Maybe I’m wrong, maybe I should say more than I do. But of all the noise I heard through social media this week, the only thing that called my name were two beautiful photos of owls from the Massachusetts Nature Lovers Facebook Group I belong to. So I bought two prints instead of getting sucked into a comment thread. I’m Irish and stubborn. Arguments are always on the tip of my tongue. This was very strong work. I consider this a small win for me, the photographer, and probably that group of people on that comment thread. Here’s the other owl. Gorgeous. Delightfully random, am I not?
What was that nugget of wisdom I had shared via text, you ask? It was as follows—my boiled down and exhausted take on the notorious DJT mixed with a little hope for our future: “I kind of feel like he has been a stress test on our democracy every step of the way and if we can withstand him and make it to the other side, intact, we have a good chance of getting somewhere moving forward.” Thousands of dollars of therapy and meds right there.
All joking and owls aside, this week was a a real doozy. It slammed me right back to Caracas, Venezuela circa 2002 when I witnessed a mini “coup” and had to flee teargas and gunfire. Have I told that story yet? Probably not. Anywho, this darkness we are in right now will want to consume all of us under its tremendous weight and pressure. It’s not easy to ignore, nor should it be. I simply suggest that perhaps we can all make an honest attempt to channel our energies differently in order to extricate ourselves from darkness’ grip. In addition to my photography splurge, I found myself listening to “Under Pressure” by Queen and David Bowie on repeat today. Wow. What a song for this very moment. Through their disparate voices and styles, “Keep coming up with love”, they said, though it may be “slashed and torn”. Why? “ ‘Cause love’s such an old-fashioned word. And love dares you to care for the people on the edge of the night. And love dares you to change our way of caring about ourselves.” Hmm. Empathy and self-love. There’s a thought. Now that we’ve survived our ultimate stress test, let’s dance this last dance and give love, if only love of this country, one more chance. We owe it to ourselves, to one another, and especially to those “on the edge of the night”. Love dares us.