Ursula

Every time we allow ourselves and our communities to grieve — for a person, for a season, for a movement, for a dream — we are practicing a politics that refuses disposability. We are rejecting the idea that we can just move on without consequence.

When you have chronic illness, life is reduced to a relentless rationing of energy. It costs you to do anything: to get out of bed, to cook for yourself, to get dressed, to answer an email. For those without chronic illness, you can spend and spend without consequence: the cost is not a problem. For those of us with limited funds, we have to... See more

The intersecting catastrophes unspooling all around us don’t offer an escape from reality, but an intensification of it. So we have a choice: (1) Accept this reality. Accept the full toxic soup of conditions we’ve put ourselves in, as well as the thick, messy, profoundly human dramas playing out amidst it. And awaken to the burdens — of grief,

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For fifteen minutes I did not turn away. I wanted to see why I didn’t look. And as I refused to turn away, refused to wear a mask, every reason I had ever avoided people’s gaze surfaced: fear.

Memories emerged. As a teen with braces and acne, I feared looking into someone’s eyes and seeing them see the “imperfection” of my face. As I grew older and... See more

It is time to grieve and mourn the dead and believe in the power of renewal. If we do not embrace our grief, our sadness will come out sideways in unexpected forms of depression and violence.