I'd like to encourage you to do something simple today that brings you joy. Bake a crumble. Find a bright yellow leaf and hold it up to the light. Drink hot chocolate while watching the rain run down the window pane.
These things seem small, but they're big. Because it's not frivolous to remind ourselves to rest, to laugh, to see beauty.
More and more, hope feels to me like an act of rebellion - an outrageous choice to make in the face of everything. Even while we're grieving and weary, there are simple things we can do to remind ourselves to hope and to feel joy. Yesterday, as the latest lockdown announcement trickled through the media, I found myself writing this poem.
Small Acts of Defiance
there’s no recipe to cure grief
or mend the world’s hurt
and yet there's strength in these tiny moments of light
these blackberry pies, pocketed acorns, paintbrushes drying
are small acts of defiance
to say, to choose, that darkness will not win
hope is a rebellion
it smells like ginger
wafting from the kitchen
weighs heavy as an egg
I will find joy
and I will grieve
and there will be a better day
Wherever you are, however you're feeling today, I hope you find a moment to rebel and choose hope.