Ok, so it's been almost two years since I dropped my first newsletter. Ha, I told you I wouldn't stuff your inbox. But seriously, yeah, it's been a minute.

I could regale you with stories of what has changed it that period of time, the ups, and the downs of trying to maintain and live and be decent person in an indecent place. And in the last few months, there's plenty to doom scroll about concerning the state of things.

Yeah, I know. It's been rough. 

But, as I crank this thing up again, the part I want to focus on is that I'm still here. I'm still pushing forward with my work and my community. I'm still talking about what is possible and allowing myself to dream beyond what we are being forced see over and over again by people that cannot see beyond their own hate. I'm still here despite the combined efforts of people who do not want me to be.

In the conversations we have about how to move forward, one thing we take for granted is that we are still here. The forces that want us to be silent in our exploitation and oppression would rather us be silent and not be messy as we continue to press the issue of human advancement in the face of reckless hate and violence. 

I'm not going to lie to you. The road is hard and it's long. Resisting this iteration of hate we are seeing from various governments across the globe is almost as hard as figuring out how we can coexist once we get past this moment in history. Our imaginations have been so long been shaped by the predilections of groups who simply do not care about our shared humanity. 

But there are always going to be people that oppose decency and human progress. There are always going to be ugly souls that have become trapped in prisons of their own making because they refuse to deal with the shadow side of themselves, and just let it spill out and (splash) damage everything around them. 

However, it does not change the fact that their greatest nightmare is still present, and it is not relenting. 

And that is us. 

I'm still here, pushing forward. 

And if you're reading this, so are you. 

That is worthy of both acknowledgement and celebration. 

Because the road to here has not been easy. 

But you made it. 

Welcome back to Live from Somewhere. I missed you too. 

— wink
r.