Amber Samaya: May Grief Do Its Work In You

Every day now, I wake up, and I feel it - grief. It is not a grief conjured up solely from my own personal losses. Although those have a part to play. It is a different grief. It is a lingering, low-lying, non-distinct grief. It is a grief that hovers, mixed with concern, with worry, with desire, with longing. A grief for something lost, or dying, or calling out for my attention, that feels like it is going to perish because there is no way for me to reach it. It is like a baby constantly crying somewhere in the distance.

Yes, like that, like that a thousand times over. A grief for things being harmed, that I alone have not the strength or power to protect. A grief that reaches out its hands to a burning rainforest, to a trafficked teenage girl, to a victim of crime that was denied justice in an unjustice system, to salmon contending with low water, to a stand of trees cut down for yet another development, to a beach covered in plastic, to a child covered in sores, to a sensitive soul shooting up the overdose of fentanyl, to the last caribou standing in a functionally extinct herd, to first nation communities surrounded on every side by industry, to the factory worker in China who forgets her own name after a 14 hr shift, to a migrant worker exhausted and unable to find a safe place to live, to a struggling farmer in India who can't afford his debts, to a millionaire buying love over and over again and never receiving it, to a cow in a feed lot standing knee deep in her own feces living a completely denaturalized life and yearning for an open field, to a person who hasn't been touched or hugged in months, to the freshly logged cut block in the last remaining old growth.

I feel you, but I cannot touch you.

I feel you, but I cannot reach you.

I feel you, because I am you.

Here is the challenge of our time, dear beings: To truly open our hearts to the wonders of Interbeing, to live a connected, open-eyed, open-hearted, wide-awake life of awareness and responsiveness to what is happening on our beloved planet, this comes with a cost. And that cost is an intensity of grief. The grief of being born to an earth family that is poisoning each other and our one and only home. That is neglecting and ignoring its elders (indigenous peoples worldwide), and squandering the inheritance of its children (our young ones, our future ones).

I don't think the world is full of cold-hearted people. I don't think that's why we're not seeing a full-scale REVOLUTION and REVOLT against business as usual. I think the world is full of people who only know their heart to be so big. Who feel the subconscious fear of the cost of it breaking, if they were to let the full reality enter in like a mighty rushing wind. I think the world is full of people who need to feel...more. And more. And...more. People who need a deeper and wider feeling experience inside of their human experience. People who have learned how to block that from happening, and so are in need of a great softening medicine. People who are exhausted with pain, and don't feel they can bear another drop.

Grief. You are a heavyweight champion. The great contender. The water and the stone.

And yet, I do believe our hearts need to be expanded by this collective grief. And so today I am making a stand for the grievers. I am making a stand for grief itself. That we must feel it. That we must not hide from it or run from it or lose our faith in its ability to connect us most deeply to all life. That we must not allow cynicism to arise in the absence of making space for it (because perhaps cynicism develops when grief is retained in the mind only, and is not allowed to reach deep down in and expand our hearts) . And that this grief, if we let it do its work in us, will have us turn fiercely and lovingly toward what we love. It will give us the wherewithal to protect it and each other and stay...open. To be giants of feeling.

I think the revolution will come through the catalyzation of grief work. It will arrive quietly and powerfully on a trail of tears.

May grief do its work in you as it is doing its work in me.

Selah.

Amber Samaya

 

https://www.ambersamaya.com/ 

 

Sophie Bashford: The Power of Female Maturity

The Power of Female Maturity

They are more of a force to be reckoned with.
They see more, know more, feel more. They put up with a lot less bullshit.

When women are trained into thinking there is something fundamentally wrong with getting older, and are coerced into spending money, energy and power investing in ‘slowing the signs of ageing’, an enormous vault of divine love is lost.

Just think what would happen if all the women in the world started loving themselves even more with every year that passed.

Perhaps a total revolution would occur.

— Sophie Bashford 

 

https://www.sophiebashford.com/the-power-of-female-maturity/

 

'Hunger Like They've Never Seen It Before': US Food Banks Struggle as 1 in 6 Families With Children Don't Have Enough to Eat

Heartbreaking! The underbelly of the American neoliberal predatory capitalist system that has always existed is now on full horrifying display for all to see. Anytime anyone demonizes democratic socialism — and while holding up capitalism as exemplar — can just dive deep into the unfathomable suffering and trauma that’s now, not just impacting groups that have always been marginalized and left behind, but that is now sweeping across the whole of our nation. Having no safety net is immoral and insane — and all this while Wall Street and the most wealthy make record gains. The extreme redistribution of wealth upwards must be ended! This is why radical systemic change is so incredibly vital to the well-being of us all. — Molly

"We're now seeing families who had an emergency fund but it's gone and they're at the end of their rope," said one Texas food bank director. 

 

By

Brett Wilkins

One in six U.S. families with children don't have enough to eat this holiday season, a national emergency exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic and the unemployment crisis it has generated. Over the past several days, remarkable reporting in the Washington Post and National Geographic, among other outlets, has explored this alarming trend.

According to Feeding America, the largest hunger relief organization in the U.S., more than 50 million people will experience food insecurity by the end of the year. Among U.S. children, the figure rises to one in four. The group, which runs a network of some 200 food banks across the nation, says it distributed over half a billion meals last month alone, a 52% increase from an average pre-pandemic month. 

The latest U.S. Census Bureau pandemic survey, published earlier this month, found that fewer than half of U.S. households with children were "very confident" they could afford to provide enough food for their families in the next month. 

By the end of this year, more than 50 million people could experience food insecurity, according to @FeedingAmerica, the country’s largest hunger-relief organization https://t.co/t6Vc9d0x5T

— National Geographic (@NatGeo) November 26, 2020

As is so often the case when it comes to matters of economic inequality, Black, Latinx, and Indigenous communities are disproportionately impacted by the hunger crisis. Among the 25 U.S. counties experiencing the worst food insecurity, only four have majority white populations, all of them in rural Kentucky. Census Bureau data reveals that fully 27% of Black and 23% of Latinx households with children reported not having enough to eat over the past week—compared with just 12% of white families. 

"This is a story about racial and ethnic disparities—both food insecurity and the story of coronavirus," Emily Engelhard, managing director of Feeding America's research unit, told National Geographic. "The populations and geographies that started in the most disadvantageous state of food insecurity are the ones that are getting hit the hardest" during the pandemic. 

This is the reality we’re dealing with now. Nearly 26 million Americans say they didn’t have enough to eat in the past week.

No one should be too poor to buy food for Thanksgiving. https://t.co/QyhTN4MwLp

— Barbara Lee (@BLeeForCongress) November 25, 2020

"People are seeing hunger like they've never seen it before," Trisha Cunningham, president of the North Texas Food Bank—where cars lined up for miles and people slept in their vehicles waiting for Thanksgiving food boxes—told National Geographic. On November 14, its busiest day on record, North Texas Food Bank provided groceries—including 7,000 whole turkeys—to more than 25,000 people.

In northeastern Ohio, the Greater Cleveland Food Bank planned to distribute 12,000 meals, a 5,000-meal increase from a year ago. 

"We're now seeing families who had an emergency fund but it's gone and they're at the end of their rope," Kristin Warzocha, president of the Greater Cleveland Food Bank, told the Guardian. "We're going to be doing this for a really long time, and that's frankly terrifying given the impact hunger has on physical health, learning and development for children, and parents' stress."

In Texas' second-largest city, the San Antonio Food Bank distributes eight semi-trucks full of food every day, but still was forced to resort to rationing due to soaring need. 

"Covid-19 has taken so much, people's jobs, their loved ones, and now we're just trying to stop it from taking Thanksgiving," San Antonio Food Bank CEO Eric Cooper told CNBC. "Pre-pandemic we were feeding around 60,000 people a week, and now we're seeing around 120,000... and most of those are new to the food bank. They've never had to ask for help before." 

Indeed, among the thousands of cars that lined up starting in the pre-dawn hours for free Thanksgiving meals at Houston's NRG Stadium last weekend, there were more than a few luxury makes. 

"I was just telling my mom, 'You look at people pulling up in Mercedes and stuff, come on,'" Randy Young, a recently laid-off cook at the stadium who was waiting in line with his elderly mother, told the Post. "If a person driving a Mercedes is in need of food, you know it's bad."

"It's been hard to survive," Young said. "Money is low. No jobs. Hard to find work." 

Loudoun County, Virginia is per capita the wealthiest county in the nation, with a median household income of just under $140,000. Yet the Post reports Loudoun Hunger Relief recently handed out meals to 887 households in one recent week, a 300% increase from pre-pandemic activity.  

"We are continuing to see people who have never used our services before," Jennifer Montgomery, Loudoun Hunger Relief's executive director, told the Post. 

In the nation's largest city, Food Bank for NYC president Leslie Gordon told France 24 that "even before the pandemic, there were 1.5 million residents here across the five boroughs who didn't always know where their next meal was coming from or what it would be, and that's escalated considerably to nearly two million of our neighbors."

 

"Across the country demand has not let up, and food banks do everything they can to make sure families have food on the table for Thanksgiving," Zuani Villareal, a spokesperson for Feeding America told the Guardian. "There's no end in sight, but we can't be the only solution." 

Celia Call, CEO of Feeding Texas, stressed to the Post that "without sustained aid at the federal level, we'll be hard-pressed to keep up" with demand. "We're just bracing for the worst," she added. 

Several progressive lawmakers tweeted the Post article over the past two days. One of them, Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), said that "Congress has the power to address this crisis," and asked, "Why aren't we doing it?" 

We’re facing an unprecedented hunger crisis in America. 26 million people, or 1 in 8 Americans, are going hungry. In the richest nation in the world, that’s unconscionable.

Congress has the power to address this crisis. Why aren’t we doing it?https://t.co/us7aikA1h9

— Ro Khanna (@RoKhanna) November 27, 2020

We actively work to end hunger around the world, but still haven’t gotten serious about ending it here in America. Eradicating hunger should be a priority.

When I came to America 25yrs ago, it was shocking to see people line up to get food & it still is. https://t.co/OETr7eWpTc

— Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) November 27, 2020

Please go here for the original article: https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/11/27/hunger-theyve-never-seen-it-us-food-banks-struggle-1-6-families-children-dont-have?utm_campaign=echobox&utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Facebook#Echobox=1606524976

The American Predatory Capitalist System Is Sociopathic

Our long failing poisonous predatory capitalist system is sociopathic. Anyone who defends this unfathomably unjust capitalist system — and anyone who celebrates the insane rise in the stock market, and while in the face of this extraordinary and simultaneous desperation, poverty, suffering, trauma, and death — has disconnected from their hearts and their humanity. Radical systemic change is so very, very long overdue. It is time for a Caring Revolution! — Molly 

 

“It’s Going To Be a Billionaire Thanksgiving.” Wealth of US Richest Just Hit $1 Trillion Since the Start of the Pandemic

When I post and engage in activism and speak out again and again and again about the inhumanity, immorality, heartlessness, and extreme injustice and greed rooted in the neoliberal predatory capitalist economic system that we've normalized and justified for far too long, this is yet one more glimpse into why AND the profound urgency that this system be completely dismantled and replaced. It cannot be fixed. All who continue to defend the insanity of this capitalist system while demonizing democratic socialism need to do a deep dive into the suffering and oppression, racism and inequality, destruction and death that has long been an inevitable result of these deadly economic structures. — Molly

 “The increases in billionaire wealth continue to defy gravity in the real economy where millions have lost their jobs, health, and livelihoods.”

By Amanda Mills

Throughout the past four decades, and even more apparent during the current coronavirus pandemic, wealth inequality in the United States has intensified. Since the pandemic began back in March the wealth of the richest billionaires just hit $1 trillion. 

 

According to Inequality.org, some of the big gains include:

• Elon Musk’s wealth grew over $100 billion since the start of the pandemic, from $24.6 billion on March 18 to $126 billion on November 24, an increase of 413%, boosted by his Tesla stock. His wealth now surpasses Bill Gates of Microsoft
• Jeff Bezos’s wealth grew almost $70 billion from $113 billion on March 18 to $182.4 billion.
• Dan Gilbert, chairman of Quicken Loans, saw his wealth rocket by over $37 billion, from $6.5 billion in March to $43.9 billion on November 24, 2020, an increase of 575 percent.

BREAKING: During the #pandemic that has taken everything from millions, U.S. #billionaires have now collectively gained over $1 TRILLION.
There is no “equal sacrifice” of #COVID. The ultra-wealthy continue to win.https://t.co/1TSFhlhmW2 — Institute for Policy Studies (@IPS_DC) November 25, 2020

This news comes at a time when 26 million Americans are experiencing hunger with not enough food to eat and the pandemic worsening, as The Washington Post reports. 

 

“The increases in billionaire wealth continue to defy gravity in the real economy where millions have lost their jobs, health, and livelihoods,” says Chuck Collins, a scholar of inequality at IPS.

Yesterday, Trump took full credit for the 30,000 Dow Jones, but took zero credit for 260,000 Americans who died from COVID, 40 million who face eviction or 26 million who don’t have enough food to eat on Thanksgiving. No, Mr. President. The stock market is not the economy. — Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) November 25, 2020

The Dow hits a record high when American families hit the highest rate of hunger in 22 years. American capitalism is totally off the rails. — Robert Reich (@RBReich) November 25, 2020

Some of these corporations and billionaires are also featured in another report unveiling even more greed. As they continue to profit, their frontline workers remain expendable and are compensated unfairly (many no longer receive extra pay despite their health risks while working).  

 

Some of these corporations and billionaires are also featured in another report unveiling even more greed. As they continue to profit, their frontline workers remain expendable and are compensated unfairly (many no longer receive extra pay despite their health risks while working). 

 

Starting in March and April, these companies offered workers additional compensation. Sometimes called “hazard pay” or “thank you bonuses,” some added as much as $2 to employees’ hourly wage while others offered occasional lump sum bonuses, according to Public Citizen. But many corporations have discontinued this extra pay. 

 

Please go here for the original article: https://www.nationofchange.org/2020/11/26/its-going-to-be-a-billionaire-thanksgiving-wealth-of-us-richest-just-hit-1-trillion-since-the-start-of-the-pandemic/