Sustainably Living the Activist Life part 3

Wow! Another year nearly in the books. So many of my friends and I have the same sort of whiplash feeling of a year that flew by overall, but really dragged in the relentless attacks on our admittedly imperfect democracy.

As the year ends and we're looking towards the new year, it's important to think about what we're bringing with us, what we want to ditch, and how we structure our lives so that we can fulfill the commitments we've made to others and ourselves. How can we lean into our ritual practices to help us stay grounded in the midst of chaos, and into the creative practices that keep us connected to our joy?

Commitment, Ritual, and Creativity are like the legs of a stool, take one leg away and we're on the floor. To do our work in this world, whatever that work may be, we are most able to respond rather than react, and are at our strongest, when we take care of the whole of ourselves. It's easy to burn out in the face of so much injustice and deep harm, but that does not serve the people and causes we care about.

That brings us to our theme for January: Start Focused, Not Frantic.

So, how might we enter 2026 to best be set up for making the impact we wish to make? We get focused. Focus starts with clarifying our commitment. When I was in acting school, on the very first day in fact, my teacher told us that specificity was everything. He put it this way, "You couldn't get home if you didn't know that was where you were going." Um, yes. I've thought about this often over the decades since then. Knowing where we want to go is essential. Til we have directional clarity we kind of just wander around being pulled this way and that by whatever voice is loudest.

It's really easy to get pulled off our main thing when so much bad is happening, but letting ourselves go from one thing to another without guardrails around our energy and capacity isn't the most effective use of our limited, by virtue of being human, resources. It's focus that helps keep us from feeling frantic. It's focus that let's us address the next right thing to do, and then the next, rather than bouncing around.

What are you committed to in 2026?

You don't even need to consider the whole year if that feels unrealistic, just look at the first quarter. Where, from January through March, will you put the bulk of your efforts? If you're feeling obligated to respond to current events, because ICE, I want to remind you that there are a lot of other things going on that also need our attention. You will be most impactful when you follow your heart in terms of the work you choose to do. That heart connection will help keep you going when things get rough. What issue, group, or practice is your heart asking you to commit to this quarter? Not what you think you "should" do, but what you're actually called to do.

And remember, this is not written in stone. If something dramatic happens to shift your focus that's fine. The point isn't to make a rigid commitment, but to make one that feels right for you, and to articulate it to yourself so that there's clarity about what you are doing.

And this isn't limited to the U.S.; no matter where you are in the world, this is a challenging time. There are so many people suffering because of the actions of a grotesquely wealthy, amoral, and powerful few. I believe that our best way to fight back is to build strong communities–communities that are responsive to the needs of their members.

Over the past few decades we've been led to believe that our individual success was the highest goal we could attain. We were turned away from the notion that we are our neighbors keepers. But we are. That has always been true and we are now seeing the cost of having forgotten that foundational truth.

As we move into this New Year let's commit to reestablishing "I am my neighbor's keeper" as a core driver of our behavior.

If we have a few core principles and keep our promises, both to others and ourselves, realistic, then commitment becomes just part of how we live and doesn't require herculean efforts when most of us are already feeling stretched thin. Directing our attention helps reduce the pressure. 

We know what is and, as importantly, what isn't ours to do. 

As I say repeatedly, there are around 8 billion people on planet Earth. If we each did something about the one or two causes that are most important to us, we'd have it all covered.

Ritual:

This time of year I like to hunker down and do cold climate winter things. Things that feel restorative in the short, dark days of the season. I read more, including re-reading favorite books. I take walks when the snow is falling, and more long baths and hot chocolate. More quiet time and Gregorian chants. Long chats with friends and naps, definitely more naps. I even have different workout habits, more Pilates and Barre and less time on the elliptical or in a step class. I cook in big batches and share with my neighbors.

For me, winter is about grounding myself. It's the time when I find it easiest to envision my goals for the year ahead. It's the season that I feel best fits my internal rhythms. Slow, steady, deep.

What is your experience of the season you're experiencing? Are there rituals that you find yourself practicing without necessarily even noticing? What practices can you intentionally bring into this season that will set you up well for the year ahead?

A new ritual that I will be practicing starting in 2026 is International Analog Day (IAD). The brainchild of my friend Shannon Downey, IAD is about disconnecting from our devices and reconnecting with people. This first IAD falls on Saturday, February 28th and you can find out all about it and how to participate here. 

I'm thinking that I'll host an ice skating cocktail party. No, we won't be drinking while we skate, that sounds like a trip to the Emergency Room waiting to happen. First the skating, then the cocktails and hot chocolate. I'm looking forward to putting down the devices and kicking it old school. Knowing that other people around the world are joining in and doing their own version of IAD, perfect!

Creativity:

What creative practices are fueling you right now? I am not someone naturally gifted in the visual arts, so my creativity emerges in other ways. I knit, I cook, I write. I sing at the top of my lungs anything from Broadway show tunes to Joan Baez. I'm learning to make zines and, for the ones I want to reproduce and distribute, I'm roping in my artistically inclined friends to do the drawings for me.

Here's a spin on New Year resolutions, you could make a zine with your vision for the quarter (or the whole year) mapped out. You could put benchmarks for things you want to accomplish in there and then color them in as the year goes along. At the end of the year you would have a personal map of all you've done. Actually, I really like this idea, I'm going to give it a go. This feels better to me than resolutions, which I don't do, way too easy to beat oneself up when we fail to meet our own unreasonable standards!

Something I think is important is to recognize that creativity is not only part of our birthright as humans, it's also necessary to our mental well-being. Creativity uses different parts of our brains than strategic, logical work. Ideally, in doing our creative projects we get into a state of flow where time disappears and we're just doing our thing, whatever that might be. We've been trained to be on the "productivity" bandwagon for so long that it can be easy to forget that there is more to life than being "productive". It can be easy to forget that being productive actually feels best when that's not all we're doing. Constant productivity feels like a slog. Productivity mixed with creativity and play–that feels like a good life.

What creativity can you bring into this upcoming year? How can you best support yourself to express yourself?

Let me close this by saying that I am so proud of us. We have weathered a truly challenging year and we are still here, committed and fighting for the world we want to see. As the year comes to a close let's celebrate all that we've done in the face of huge obstacles. As we look forward to 2026 let's hold on to our communities and our joy. Isn't that what we're fighting for really?

I'll see you in 2026! Happy New Year everyone!

Love, love, love,
Omkari