Welcome to my blog titled ‘Five Things’ where you can expect just that - five random musings or reflections from the previous week or so. I’ll also share a quote I find meaningful as a point of focus for the week. For a photo gallery of our life on the road, our pets, and miscellaneous things I find interesting, you can follow me on Instagram @tabithalord.
So here are this week’s five things, starting with the quote of the week…
"He who passively accepts evil is as much involved in it as he who helps to perpetrate it. He who accepts evil without protesting against it is really cooperating with it." - Martin Luther King, Jr.
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about what it means to ‘bear witness’ to something. For me, the term seemed to reflect a passive activity. We witness something, see it happening to someone else, or in the world, and observe it as a bystander. But with the chaos currently bombarding us from all sides, the ‘bearing’ part becomes more meaningful, more active. When we witness violence or injustice, we hold the truth of it within ourselves. We become a living record of it, but the ‘bearing’ part isn’t without cost. When we witness trauma, we too are traumatized. When we witness injustice, we feel rage, frustration, fear. Our nervous system responds. Our body reacts. Our soul suffers. In the aftermath, I think, we have a choice. We can allow what we’ve witnessed to paralyze us with fear or anger or frustration, or we can do what we need to do to keep our minds and bodies healthy, and then find a way to engage, and to give meaning to what we’ve witnessed.
Ray and I decided that as soon as our bed is delivered to the new place, we’ll move in, regardless of whatever other furniture has or has not arrived. Well, it looks like the bed is coming Thursday, so we are likely spending our last week as nomads. Things are about to get real!
As I sit at our small kitchen table in the RV writing this, the animals are resting in their favorite places. We’ve purchased new cat trees and beds, scratching poles and water fountains. I’m curious what will become their new favorite comfy spots in the new place, and I wonder how long it will take for them to feel like they’re home. I wonder how long it will take before we feel like we’re home?
Classes are in full swing, and my brain is working overtime. While there isn’t as much creative work happening this semester, there is quite a lot of learning going on. So far, it’s been great to be with my classmates and instructors again, and I love discussing the business side of the writing world. This class dovetails nicely with my own plans to promote and publish new content this year. Our deep dive into teaching philosophies and methods this semester is already really interesting and satisfying too. I’m starting to imagine what it might look like to teach at the university or grad school level. And of course, I can’t wait to dig into the edits for my thesis. I’m tired just thinking about everything that needs to happen in the next few months, both personally and professionally, but also really excited!