Hypothetically, it’s open mic night ...

Vanilla or chocolate … choose one … or ???

Scene: It’s Open Mic night at the local library. I am speaker #4 out of the 5 that will speak for 10 minutes tonight on our own subject of choice. Thirty minutes ago, there were 50 empty chairs; now they are filled and some folks are milling around in the back.

I would rather be almost anywhere else. I swore I’d never ever do public speaking again. However, I feel a need to share what I’ve learned from two recent projects which were life-altering, For me, this is stepping into the dragon’s den and the choice I make tonight could color the remainder of my active life … one of those “it changed everything” moments.

2 Projects, 1 choice, 10 minutes to choose

There is only time to talk about one of the projects and it’s ten minutes before the event begins. I still haven’t chosen which project I’ll talk about. I’m starting to sweat as I try to decide:

Project #1: A story of bravery, community development, the power of art, and eco-democracy.

Recently I made a trip to Mexico where I visited a small town with ancient roots. It’s something of a legend because the town rose up against the criminals that were clear cutting their sacred forest. They also threw out corrupt politicians and declared themselves autonomous. On a visit years ago, I was fascinated by their bravery and the incredible murals I saw there. This time, I went back determined to learn more and spent several days talking to residents through a guide/translator.

Language was an issue and I felt like a complete outsider when I got there. However, the people were open and friendly and shared their concerns about their future and the fate of their forest and their water system. I was surprised to learn how much their future depends on their ability to avoid avocados, an environmental challenge and darling of the cartels.

In addition to visiting this village, I spent several weeks visiting other places in Mexico, seeing incredible street murals and how much they influence their communities. I came home with a deeper understanding of the power of community and a yearning to share stories and art to help us reconnect with our own roots in this country. Now I am challenged to find new ways to pull murals, democracy, and ecology into a something that will reconnect us to our roots and to each other.

Cherán

Project #2: It’s an election year and democracy is in danger as the political divide becomes more polarized

My bias for democracy made me feel a deep need to do something to help so I started reading more about Project 2025, the extreme right’s plan to dismantle our governmental structure as we know it.

While friends were calling this just another transition plan, I began to make inquiries about how to translate the 900-page document which outlined a radical transition plan to an authoritarian form of government. I knew I could contribute to this effort … and also knew that it would take a lot of work and it needed to be a collaborative project..

It started slowly as I began to meet people who recognized the same threat. I was invited to join, as a volunteer, in the process of getting the word out to the country. Long hours, many zoom calls, and a lot of frustration later, it’s now three weeks before the election and it’s beginning to look like our efforts are having an effect. My nightmare of waking up on November 6^th knowing I didn’t do what I could to prevent a disaster are starting to disappear. 

But, I am tired. It has been a LOT of work that edged out so much of what I love spending time doing. After the election, I expect to go back to fewer political activities.

The Choice: chocolate or vanilla?

Both projects were worthwhile. I could talk for ten minutes about either one. But which one? On the surface, the choice should be simple: vanilla or chocolate … choose one. Both were sweet and cold, maybe it didn’t really even matter, just pick one.

But, my mind swung back and forth, until I slowly recognized that the Mexico project had been something I wanted to do while the election project was something I thought I should do. Which one did I want to carry into the future? Suddenly, I felt a swirling, something new emerging, pulling in new flavors and textures until the choice was clear: I chose butter pecan.

I rose and began to tell the story of six old women who woke up one day ready to die for their community. And, a big part of that story was how they used street murals to bring the community together, tell they story of their long history, and give them the courage to fight for their future. It is a story about democracy that needs to be heard.

End of scene.

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Postscript:

Thank you to

Tara Penry

, who writes Quiet Reading, for her challenge to write a 5-word review of a Substack post new to each of us. That led me to

Donna McArthur

who writes The Bright Life and her post “How to get unstuck.” 

I was definitely stuck — swinging back and forth trying to decide whether to go to Mexico or put myself to work against Project 2025. After penduluming for days, I decided to follow Donna’s process step-by-step.

The first break through was taking this decision out of the “Yes”/“No” category and realizing it was more of a which “yes” had the more powerful call and which fear had the louder voice. (If it’s truly an adventure, there’s always fear involved.)

She recommends thinking of the “worst-case scenario” which is always useful as we remind ourselves that we have come through a lot of challenges. For me, however, what helped even more was imagining the “best-case scenario,” where the Mexico adventure leaped lengths ahead.

“Shake things up” really got things going when she suggested doing something we swore we’d never do. The only thing I could think of was public speaking so I took that into my imaginary speech at a library open mic night. That wound up breaking through a lot of barriers and brought me to a resolution.

So, thank you Donna and Tara! I’m going on an adventure to Mexico … and I’ve also found some ideas for fighting Project 2025. When I return from Mexico, I think I’ll have more resources that could be applied to the election