Hello my beautiful, lovely, kind outdoorsy friends. I'm sitting here in my bed the night before the inauguration trying to write something. I want to write something comforting, something empowering, something validating. But I'm coming up empty. Not because I feel hopeless, no. I am struggling to put words to this feeling right now because it's so complex. And how does one put into words a feeling like this? While I feel like we're on the precipice of something horrible, something irreversible, I also feel like we have more opportunity than ever to bring the power back to the people. My mind constantly oscillates between hope and fear. So many of us are here because of how our differences brought us together. We're all from very different backgrounds and identities and places. But what unites us, in my opinion, is our capacity for love and empathy. We all can imagine a future where everyone feels like they're valued, respected, and equal. We all feel driven by a sense of right and wrong, always looking for justice and to advocate for the voice of the voiceless. And we might not get it right every time, but dammit we're going to try our best to lead with love. I hope you know, whatever you're feeling right now is valid. As cliche as it is to say, this is such an unprecedented time. There's no rulebook for how to proceed. And I know we're all going to feel so many things: Anger, righteousness, fear, hopelessness, hope, disassociation, incredulity. You name it, it's valid. And I don't want to sit here on a soap box and preach a message of hope to you all. I don't know what's going to happen. But I do know that we have each other. And we are stronger together. So, let's cling to that. Cling to the comfort of knowing you are not alone through the darkness. And we'll get through this together. I love you all.
#outdoorsforall #youbelong #fdt #queer #lgbtq #lgbtqia #humanright #antifascist