Well, Here We Are
Finding Sanity + Resilience As War & Other Actions Escalate
IRAN + TRUMP + THE MIDDLE EAST = RISING CHAOS
Well, here we are. Trump was always going to be a disruptor. Now with what's happening with Iran and the Middle East east we're going to have instability on a way huger scale.
That is a fact.
We do not know what that's going to look like. No one does.
Once chaos starts to escalate the cascading effects and feedback loops become unpredictable. You don't know what the different players are going to do, or what various effects will be.
Fear is reasonable.
CONNECTION, IN THE MIDST OF MOTION
I offer this advice.
Take some steps back from the world where you can and put some pieces and parts in place so that you can better navigate increased chaos.
At the most basic level that is about connecting in more significant ways with the people in your lives... whether they be neighbors or relatives or friends or people online or whatever.
It is about fierce community.
We are going to need each other in all of this. That's how you find your way through chaos. With other humans.
Lots of people will be doing prepper stuff. That works to a point.
But — you need society and you need community and you need the things in society to make it long-term.
To do all of that you need PEOPLE.
Then you need some strategy and ideas and ways to keep up on the situation and capabilities and resources and all that. That comes later.
RESILIENCE IS PEOPLE
✔️ To start you need people. You need connections and you need community.
That is absolutely the heart of resilience. 〰️❤️
Lots of people will say otherwise and give all kinds of other advice. That's lovely. There's a lot of good advice out there.
But we are the most most resilient when we are working together with other people.
As we walk forward through whatever chaos unfolds here, we are going to need those connections in combination with our big brains and creativity and thorough persistence and care and love and ability to look after each other.
We will also need things like infrastructure and food and water and shelter and whatnot.
We get those things by working with other people.
In community. In coordination. In coalitions.
With connection.
ALONE DOESN’T WORK
Not a single one of us can produce all of that on our own.
Almost nobody is in a position to sneak out to some woods somewhere and somehow stay alive.
In large part because there aren't very many woods in very many places anymore. But also we don't have the skills. Also there's not enough capacity for lots of people. It just doesn't work.
CREATE THE SPACE FOR CONNECTION, LIKE NOW
🖤 So take deep breaths.
Rage and grieve and feel the fear.
We need to take on and allow our emotions to be and flow.
And then put some time into connecting with other people in any kind of way.
Make the space for it. Make it a priority today. Make it a priority this week.
Talk through this stuff. Talk through potential and ideas and possibilities — if you want.
Or another approach is to just get together with the people and acknowledge all of the things going on. And then do some normal life stuff that humans do.
For example, this past week I spent time with some of my people doing like a "Chopped" (it's a reality TV show of cooking with random food combinations) CSA dinner with community supported agriculture food one of the people brought and picked fruit that another person brought and a few other things. We cooked together based on what we had and it was a really lovely night. Everyone contributed in their own way and it came together really well. Mostly though, it was time together with a group of people we're growing connections with. It was heartening and good for the soul, even as so much is happening around us all.
We don't all have the capacity necessarily for doing dramatic, big preparedness things.
We do all have at least some capacity to connect with other humans, to help each other, to ask for help, to find solidarity, to share emotions, to love, or to just be together in some way.
This is the stuff we can do today and this week.
THIS IS HOW IT IS
📜 A lot of us did a lot of things so we wouldn't get to a moment like this. We did what we could with what we had. Lots of people are still working to make whatever is happening less damaging and to stop it where it can be stopped. We need all of that.
We also need to be able to find ways through this fast changing society.
That part starts with connection.
Good luck with that. Good luck with today. Take care of yourself and take care of your people. Or find some new ones. Deepen some relationships. Find some joy. Grieve. Love. All that stuff.
We will find ways through.
Keep the faith, in humans. We can do hard things and love so fiercely, even in the midst of rising chaos.
Forward.
⚡❤️🌱
Vanessa Burnett is the director at Fierce Community. This nonprofit work promotes connection, community, coordination, creativity, engagement, empowerment, leadership, and resilience in an era of rising instability and societal disruption. Email fiercecommunityteam@gmail.com to set up a conversation.
Vanessa is a social entrepreneur, advisor, and empower-er for doing fierce community in a time of disruption and disaster. Ms. Burnett has a rare systems-level understanding of the pieces and parts that modern society needs in order to survive that can help people and groups navigate this era of fast change and unprecedented challenges. She has over 25 years experience in resilience-building, civic engagement, coalition-building, critical infrastructure, systems thinking, big disasters, catastrophes, wildland fire, emergency management, incident management, land management, park rangering, homeland security, continuity of operations (COOP), continuity of government (COG), technology innovation, public communication, and disaster information sharing. More about the author in this bio and on this page.