Little Riot

the power of small actions and staying soft

Little Riot

the riot started
in the cracks —
a seed that settled but
didn’t give up
when it felt 
concrete

somewhere in our cells
we remember
how our softness
softens even the hardest 
around us

the seed shed 
its coat, gave up
protection for
the pulse of 
possibility

that turned out
to be life

---

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Dear friends,

The first three weeks of the year have already held too much suffering. I have so many words bubbling up, and then grief weighing me down, and small action propelling me forward.

There’s a term in farming called “hardening off” – when you move seedlings from the protection of the greenhouse to a mid-way point between the ideal conditions and the unknowns of the field.

Before you plant seedlings out, they need to build up proverbial muscle and get used to the wind and sun. Otherwise, they may never grow to their full potential.

Last week, my friend and I went to a protest outside of the Williston, VT ICE office. A few minutes before we left, we heard there was concern about safety, based on a comment left in a Facebook group.

It gave us pause for a moment, and then we both agreed that this was about building our own proverbial muscles.

The event was peaceful and energizing and cold. It may not have made an immediate difference to ICE’s operation in Vermont, but it brought us together with 300 others, gained media attention, and bolstered the Williston Selectboard to pass a resolution opposing ICE.

Well beyond that small protest, we’ve seen the power of people coming together in Minneapolis.

My friend Grace Oedel wrote about her experience there with interfaith leaders, and rooting into the power of being nice:

The power of “Minnesota Nice” and simple, human language

Related to importance of knowing ‘who we are’, Minnesotans are very proud of how nice they are. None of the people from the city I met were talking in ANY kind of jargon about why they were there. None told me their political party or their theory of change. They said things like:

• “This is plain wrong.” “I love my neighbors.” “My heart breaks for those kids.” “This is not who we are.” “We don’t really want to be out here in the cold, but we’re Minnesota tough.” “They picked the wrong city.”

• Reclaiming neighborliness and basic “niceness” (and wow does it have teeth!)

• Using plain language and appealing to basic human concepts brings people in rather than making everyone be a perfect ally.

Read her entire post here: We’re taking notes, Minneapolis!

The thing I keep coming back is this:

Soft hearts lead fiercely.

Cruelty and violence want us to shrink and retract.

Softening allows us to reach out, to give and ask for help, to send out roots that can grow into an entire world of possibility.

Let us build muscle for loving action.

Let us not give up.

Let us remember every seed that has cracked through concrete and bloomed.

Let us be those seeds, cracking what is hard, making way for a softer, kinder world.