The Teaspoon and the Tea

My current interest is social justice movements and related topics and my list of followed blogs is starting to reach critical mass. This is something I’m always interested in, but it’s also the thing of the moment for me. Next week, it may be basket weaving or synchronized swimming. I embrace my sugar-high-puppy attention span. (Squirrel!)

What I love most from this field is the concept of signal boosting or, as Melissa McEwan and company over at Shakesville suggest, teaspooning. I’m one of those people who regularly feels overwhelmed by, well, everything. I’m great at giving impassioned speeches to my family about outrageous rights abuses and ass-hattery in the world (they very much wish I would stop doing this, I think). I do okay at raising awareness in my little corner of the world, with some real success in opening the minds of my family. But I always feel like I should do more and my efforts at home are so tiny and pointless.

Shakesville is starting to change my mind about that. As their lexicon says, sometimes all you can do is “try to empty the sea with this teaspoon; all I can do is keep trying to empty the sea with this teaspoon.” (Original post by Melissa here.) I love this idea. This blog is part of my corner of the world; it’s my virtual sitting room. So if the best I can do is carry on from here, I will offer my visitors a seat and a cup of tea and a chance to discuss what’s happening around us. I may never be out on the front lines of any movement. I may never be a hero or an icon. But I’ll be an ally. I’ll stand on the shoreline and raise my teaspoon to any cause that needs one more little voice on its side.

I’m still figuring out what I want my life to look like and how I’m going to get there. What I do know is that writing is about saying something; storytelling is about illuminating our world and our natures. Expect to see me engaging with the world just a little more often around here. If this sort of thing interests you, come on in. The tea is hot and the teaspoons are out.