Ask Not What You Can't Do, But What You Can

A time for possibilities.

Dear friends,

As we bid farewell to that utter asshole of a year, I'm trying to envision the year ahead as a vast expanse of possibilities. I don't expect it will be the least bit easy, as those in power fight tooth and nail to cling to their ill-gotten wealth and bloated sense of control, but we have spent the past year showing ourselves and each other that when we come together, we are mighty. Regardless of whatever those menacing clowns have up their sleeves this year (a middle of the night attack on Venezuela, perhaps?), the possibilities for us to create a world we want to call home are endless. This past year they have unleashed hatred, cruelty, chaos, violence, division, disinformation, fear mongering, and all-around bonkersness. Let's come together in 2026 to counter that with kindness, care, curiosity, love, joy, solidarity, humour, compassion, and all-around decency.

The future is not written, but we all have a part to play in how it will unfold. If we hide under the covers, we are actively participating in allowing the fascists to win. If we join in the resistance (in whatever form that takes for us), we are actively participating in defeating the fascists. The possibilities (both good and bad) for the year ahead are infinite. Of course, what will turn the possibilities into the realities we want to see is us. This is both our opportunity and our responsibility, because if we don't actively participate, we are handing our power to those who will abuse it.

But what can I do? I'm only one person!

There are a million things I am certain I cannot do, no matter how much I wish I could. I feel it is important to acknowledge these personal limitations so I don't get bogged down with regrets about all the things I'm not doing to save the planet/human race/democracy. It's only in the past few years that I've really started to acknowledge my superpowers (writing, schmoozing, community building), and even so, every day I battle with the deeply patriarchal 'Imposter Syndrome'. But we are living through such a dangerously pivotal time, we all need to believe in ourselves and in our superpowers to create meaningful change, to protect what and who we love. We need to bring our unique strengths to the party to complement the powerful contributions our friends and neighbours and fellow resisters are bringing. A party is not a party with just one person. The more the merrier. The more the mightier.

So, what does 'joining the resistance' mean? Perhaps it means you join the 7+ million No Kings protesters. Perhaps you are holding your politicians accountable for their actions or inactions. Perhaps you have the financial resources to donate to organizations that are working hard to protect the planet and/or civil rights. Perhaps you are creating art or other forms of beauty that help heal hearts and/or build solidarity. Perhaps you are hanging a pride flag in your window or placing a sign of support on your lawn. Or, perhaps you are focusing more on strengthening your immediate community. My friend T (she of the heart of gold, sharp wit and spicy tongue) is a prolific quilter. She has committed to sewing up to 50 infant quilts this year to donate to our local women's shelter. Another friend is a tireless community builder and social organizer in her retirement home, making sure none of her fellow residents slip through the cracks of loneliness. I am in total awe of the work Josh at Heretic Coffee Co is doing to nourish his community with free breakfasts. Closer to home, my kiddo volunteers with the Community Food Support every week, packing food boxes to be distributed to under-waged neighbours. When we strengthen our community, we are actively thwarting the efforts to divide us, and this is such a powerful and important act of resistance.

Those Buddhists, eh?

"Your life is your message." Thich Nhat Hanh

I like to listen to things while crocheting (my own personal meditative practice), and lately I've been working my way through the 2025 Awareness in Action series led by the Upaya Zen Centre. Over the past year we've been bombarded daily with chaos and mayhem, wreaking havoc on our physical and mental wellbeing. This series addresses the assaults on our shared humanity and offers some wonderfully zen approaches to staying sane while stepping up to the challenge of fighting fascism. Every speaker in this series reminds us that we are all interconnected and have a responsibility to be socially engaged. As the saying goes (as quoted by Roshi Joan Halifax), "We rise by lifting others."

I've also been following the two dozen Buddhist monks (and their dog Aloka) who are currently walking for peace across the USA. It is heartwarming and reassuring to see the loving reception they are receiving every step of the way, through every city, through every state. What an extraordinary message they are sharing through the simple act of walking together. Their journey is a reminder that most of us want peace. Most of us want love.

Tikkun Olam, restoring the world.

My friend Marianne is a wonderful storyteller who shares her thought provoking, heartfelt musings in her weekly newsletter. Every winter, she shares this lovely tale that she says "was gifted to Rachel Naomi Remen by her grandfather on her fourth birthday. It is called Birthday of the World. If you prefer to listen, here’s the full conversation with Krista Tippett on On Being."

“In the beginning, there was only the holy darkness, the Ein Sof, the source of life. Then, in the course of history, at a moment in time, this world, the world of a thousand thousand things, emerged from the heart of the holy darkness as a great ray of light. And then, perhaps because this is a Jewish story, there was an accident. (laughs) And the vessels containing the light of the world, the wholeness of the world, broke. And the wholeness in the world, the light of the world, was scattered into a thousand thousand fragments of light. And they fell into all events and all people, where they remain deeply hidden until this very day.

“Now, according to my grandfather, the whole human race is a response to this accident. We are here because we are born with the capacity to find the hidden light in all events and all people; to lift it up and make it visible once again and, thereby, to restore the innate wholeness of the world. This is a very important story for our times — that we heal the world one heart at a time. This task is called “tikkun olam” in Hebrew, “restoring the world.” 

“And this is, of course, a collective task. It involves all people who have ever been born, all people presently alive, all people yet to be born. We are all healers of the world.

“And that story opens a sense of possibility. It’s not about healing the world by making a huge difference. It’s about healing the world that touches you, that’s around you. That’s where our power is. Many people feel powerless in today’s situation.

“It’s a very old story. It comes from the 14th century. It’s a different way of looking at our power. And I suspect it has a key for us in our present situation, a very important key. I’m not a person who is a political person in the usual sense of that word. But I think that we all feel that we’re not enough to make a difference; that we need to be more, somehow, either wealthier or more educated or, somehow or other, different than the people we are. And according to this story, we are exactly what’s needed. And to just wonder about that a little, what if we were exactly what’s needed? What then? How would I live if I was exactly what’s needed to heal the world?”

So, let's not ask what we can't do, but what we can. Each of us is exactly what is needed to play our part in restoring the world, or at least making it better. Whether we are marching in the streets, or praying for peace (or both), each of us has something important to offer. It doesn't have to be monumental. We don't have to try to save everything. We just need to try to save something. And, if all of us save just one small thing, collectively, we save the world. That's how it works.

Sending you love, strength, and solidarity for the year ahead,

Jessica (she/her)

p.s. I wrote this before the Idiot-in-Chief's middle-of-the-night assault on a Venezuela caused most of us to spin out in horror and outrage. If ever there was a moment to stop to take some deep, mindful breaths, it's now. Let those breaths sustain us and give us the focus and clarity for our work in these dangerous times.