Be a Light in the Dark

The Darkest Days of the Year Have Festivals of Light for a Reason

We’re heading into the darkest days of the year (tomorrow, Dec 21st, is the shortest in the Northern Hemisphere where 90% of the world’s population lives) and one of America’s darkest years (the rush of the elites to bend the knee to the incoming regime is only outmatched by the vast incompetence of everyone involved).

In a world of darkness and chaos, be a light that refuses to dim.

@susankayequinnbgf#lightinthedarkness

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(In light of the impending shutdown of Tiktok, I’ve shared a few tiktoks from the Bright Green Futures channel at the end of this post.)

Every serious person I know—activists of all kinds, people elbows deep in the constant anti-capitalist work of the world, the kind that keeps everything running and constantly mends the harms done by capitalism and patriarchy and all the -isms—is resting, reading, connecting, finding joy, finding their passports, making lists of go-bag items and tending to family, friends, and most of all, themselves.

They (we) are girding for the fight.

On Mastodon and Bluesky

It’s a quiet preparation, but one of the most healthy responses I can imagine. It’s people who have lived through four years of Trump (already) and even more years of seeing the climate crisis relentlessly grow worse, including the last two years of breaking every global heat record and watching whole towns wash away… it’s these people, the serious ones, the ones who understand the gravity of what we are facing, who are not bending the knee, not lapsing into terror or despair, but treating the wounds in themselves first so they can render the aid that will be needed in the future.

Tyrants love to terrorize and immobilize people (and feed their darkest desires)… and what I’m seeing is serious people reflexively doing exactly the right thing to combat that: creating comfort, building strength, gathering family and friends, creating joy.

They (we) are the light in the dark we (they) all need.

Various religions and cultural practices around the world put up lights at this time of year for a reason. In the cold of winter, between plentiful harvest that’s far behind us, before the promise of new life that spring will bring, there’s a time of huddling up, keeping warm, sharing stories and love and comfort while the harsh winds blow outside.

I don’t need to tell you how to do this: you already know.

Gift yourself (and the ones you love) whatever joy you can find.

I’ve had this on my website for a couple years, an ethos I feel deep in my bones and try to live (imperfect as I am, stumbling and terrified as I am, sleepless-at-night, often-shouting-instead-of-listening me):

In a world that’s doubling down on more brutality as the “answer” to the brutality they’ve already administered, when the people in power want nothing more than for you to be too exhausted to do anything but comply, the most radical thing you can do is rest, re-energize, and then go out in the world and do the things they cannot stop: live, love, create, connect, survive.

Survival is resistance, too.

Your persistance, your relentless determination to continue to exist, is the ultimate rebuttal to their relentless brutality. Do not underestimate the power of simply outlasting them. Do whatever you need to do to make it happen.

The sun also rises (view from my backyard on one of the darkest days of the year).

I will be taking some time off from the podcast and newsletter for the holidays, but I’ll be back in the new year with more stories and more thoughts about what’s ahead and how we’ll navigate it… together.

Peace and Light,

Sue

ps those promised tiktoks…

@susankayequinnbgfI made a new zine for the Solarpunk Expo this Saturday! HOW TO SOLARPUNK: I'm rather pleased with it, and so is my calico, Techy. You can download your own copy to print, fold, (and share!). Download the zine: https://susankayequinn.com/how-to-write-solarpunk-zine Solarpunk Expo (Pittsburgh, Jun 29th): https://lu.ma/a1533gw0 #climatechange #climatecrisis #climatesolutions #hopepunk #solarpunk

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@susankayequinnbgfFighting the ideological war NEW EPISODE: Bright Green Futures #podcast #solarpunk #technofeudalism #capitalism #ClimateChange

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@susankayequinnbgfLivestream tonight! link in bio #Climatechange #climatefiction #solarpunk #hopepunk

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@susankayequinnbgfWe’re still cutting them down #deforestation #ClimateChange #trees #librarytiktok

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@susankayequinnbgfI took a long time to read this book. I'll be coming back to this slim volume again and again. "The purpose of activism and art, or at least of mine, is to make a world in which people are producers of meaning, not consumers, and writing this book I now see how this is connected to the politics of hope..." — Rebecca Solnit #book #hope #ClimateChange

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BONUS: if you’re a map nerd, definitely watch these animations of world population and then check out this fun map store in the tiny state of Rhode Island.

Bright Green Futures 2024 Anthology

You may have noticed that we never did have that cover reveal—there have been some delays in getting the cover art just right, so that will be coming in the new year as well!