Wednesday Waking

Libraries that should be leaders in the field of information technology are simply trying to keep up these days. Librarians are working hard to keep up, too. We’re wrestling with state and federal legislators to maintain funding for basic services, for first amendment rights to freedom of speech, for training and tools to have a greater impact on digital literacy, and training so that we can implement AI into our services in meaningful ways while also providing robust AI training to our communities.

Trying to overcome all the current financial and political barriers is more than any of us can handle alone. I can’t blame anyone who brings home a pile of books by Jacqueline Woodson, George Johnson, Jeff Zentner, or Aisha Saeed to disappear into for the night. Books are havens. Books–whether fiction or nonfiction, whether a graphic novel or picture book—contain stories and “stories are a communal currency of humanity.” (Tahir Shah)

Some of the books that I’ve read recently (Original Sins: The (Mis)education of Black and Native Children and the Construction of American Racism; The Gate, The Girl, and the Dragon; The Incredibly Human Henson Blayze) have all touched something in me, reminding me of the ways I’m connected to others through shared history, land, schooling, or even through stones. The books made me feel whole, not only by expressing ways that I’m connected to the world, but in deepening how I connect to my own self; in validating something about me for me that lets me know I’m OK; I belong here.

As a reader, stories remind me that the things that matter most are not found in the politically cycled forms of imperialism that surround us but, in how I choose to maneuver the world; how I care for myself and how I build and maintain family and community. “One might say that the chaos of life is a chronic condition for which stories are the remedy.” (Derek Thompson) I care for myself enough to take the time to cultivate re-affirming relationships and in that way, my self-care becomes communal. Bonds, or rather love, is shaped through storytelling and that fortifies us all. We all have our own stories but sharing them is what brings us together. Books, commodified stories, may not always feel as personal, but they still provide connections.

As a writer… well, this little story may not be as eloquent as one by Amy Tan or John Irving, but it does share some of my ideas and thoughts. I hope that shaping my thoughts into a meaningful composition will connect with you in some way and I hope it provides you with a respite.

Hope, that’s it! This is a space of sharing hope today.

Be well and do good!

Filed under: self care