Courage Words, from Orwell: "Every joke is a tiny revolution."

Dear Reader

As we swirl through the early months of this new year, the whirlwind of wild and passionate human emotions also gathers momentum: about the state of The Body Politic, and the States, and the Supreme Leader, sorry, I mean, the Emperor, oh, no, I meant Elon – NO, wait, how did he get in here?--you know who I mean.

I know it’s no joke.

And yet . . . Like someone laughing at a funeral (a strangely common stress-related response) I DO feel myself diving into jokes these days. Humour is one of my favourite (and internationally time-honoured) forms of resistance and celebratory connection. We REQUIRE humour when we fear sliding into chaos; or even when we fear a powerful nation with nuclear weapons is sliding into chaos. Humour is a subversive form of intelligence.

Added bonus: the experience of sharing real laughter, deep in the mind, heart, gut, is empowering. Systemically, somatically, even spiritually, it’s also healing.

Thus I summon George here (Orwell, that is) who said,

Every joke is a tiny revolution.

In the 90's and early 2000's, writing about political resistance in Myanmar and its war-torn borders, I was inspired by the humour--the pranks, the laughter, the insistence on joy--of Burmese, Karen, Karenni and Shan dissidents and revolutionaries, men and women who dedicated their lives to the struggle for democacy. And so I lived with those words by Orwell in my mind. I even inserted them or their thought equivalents into my books about life and death under dictatorship in Myanmar: (The Lizard Cage, Burmese Lessons, The Border Surrounds Us—that last title is an out-of-print book of poetry, hopefully available again this fall . . .)

Faced with egregious political acts, some of us feel fear, physical dread, illness, others feel anger—“I’m shaking with rage” a friend wrote on her Facebook page the other day. Some people feel excitement, too—the fast-talking pundits appear in my dreams. Just beyond these emotions, conflict arises as opposing "sides" clash and resist one another. Yes, I’ve blocked some people on Facebook too.

But . . . should I have? Should I un-block them? Am I a . . . Karen? Why yes, yes I AM a Karen!

If we are to "resist" the forces coming at us in so many ways, let it be through the intelligent choices we (still are able to) make. Though tiny and other revolutions. Through talking, building relationships, reaching out. Small acts, large acts. Creative escapes and journeys inward and outward (see my P.S.).

Is connecting with other people challenging in these times? It sure is . . .

So I asked myself, What would be a good thing to do?

Open The Courage Room, of course! For we all NEED courage at the moment. And always.

I wanted to offer the Courage Room because gathering is valuable for many reasons; listening to and witnessing each other gives us strength and lessens our feelings of isolation. In a group, we also come into a special awareness of the power of Presence. Abiding. Being here with each other. The power of the human face, seen, and the eyes, met.

Then I did a reality check. I don't have the capacity to hold space for another group right now. I'm full-up tending and abiding with individuals. Preparing the Retreat. Wrangling institutions. And I have a cold. Yet I built the web page, set the date, and began writing this letter very differently. Talking to you in my mind, I realized: I can't do this right now.

It's worth our thought: when we most need rest, rejuvenation, care, when we even KNOW this, we still sometimes self-abandon, or push through, or force ourselves to do just ONE MORE THING!

So I took my own medicine and changed my brain / mind. I will host a Courage Room another time.

Some of you remember that beautiful room! I’m grateful to everyone who participated and (essentially) taught me how to hold sacred space in cyberspace. The Courage Room Collective was a weekly Zoom gathering I hosted for three years. We began in COVID to fulfil the need to come together, see each other’s beautiful human faces, and feel supported in a creative and brain-body-spirit-aware container. We also wrote together in each meeting (in our later gatherings, sometimes for 3-4 hours.)

A while back, I put my favourite Courage Room Meditations and Writing Exercises together in (mostly) audio and video form. (And then, never mentioned it to anyone.) This is a low-cost self-guided course for creative people who want to sink into down-to-earth self-care and writing practices. The creative visualizations are the beginning of my clinical hypnosis work; some of them are very dreamy . . .

Instead of holding a BRAND NEW Courage Room right now, here's the first chapter, free for you: The Courage Room Is Your Body. You do have to sign up HERE to access the course platform. When you click on Chapter One and each of the arrows, the lessons becomes available to you immediately. It has 3 lessons, a brief video, two meditations/visualizations, and several different writing explorations. Enjoy!

You may want to explore the course over several weeks, months, even a year. There are 15 “Chapters”, each with 2-4 different practices, or lessons. I hope to add more lessons as I receive feedback from people going through the experience).

Bon Courage,

Karen

P.S. March 10^th is the last day of the Early Bird Price for The Olive Grove Retreat.

You did it! Thank you! Five courageous souls will be going on a pilgrimage to the island of Lesvos in May: click HERE for the info on my website. I have one more spot in the seaside hotel that’s hosting participants, plus a little house in a nearby grove, possibly for a couple, including a couple of friends (the cost would be slightly less with 2 participants in the small house). Please reach out in the next few days if this investment in rejuvenation, peace and adventure is calling you! There's still time to plan for a week, ten days, or two weeks in the Grove. Also I'm here for you if you want to talke about a payment plan OR schedule a call to find out more.

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