Rebellions Are Built On Hope
pleasure, joy, and love as sources of strength
Welcome to The Practice of Life — a place to slow down, befriend yourself, and connect with the world from kindness and awareness. If you’re just arriving for the first time, you may enjoy this introduction.
Everything here is freely offered without paywalls. If you appreciate what you find, please consider a free or paid subscription, or a one-time donation. Your financial support creates possibilities for me to spend more time on writing, including a memoir-in-progress. It also really helps if you give this post a ‘like’ (click the heart at the end) and share it. Thank you!
New Moon / May 26, 2025
Prelude
First, a huge thank-you to everyone who reached out and offered support after my last rather personal post, “Shattered,” and especially to those of you who signed up for a paid subscription or made a donation. I’m happy to report life is gradually getting back to “normal,” whatever that means these days, and my car and living room window have been replaced.
Once the plywood was removed and the new living room window went in last Monday morning, I could literally feel the light returning. As you can see, Lucy was thrilled to have her perch back.
These new moon letters were originally intended to feature “3 Good Things,” a sharing of yummy resources. I’ve drifted away from that rhythm, but this feels like a good day to return to some form of it. So rather than an essay, here’s a bit of what’s going on for me and what I’m savoring, with some illustrations.
Rebellions Are Built On Hope
Those of you who have been or are watching the series Andor will recognize this line. I have been totally caught up in the story, which spans two seasons, and that line in particular stands out. Those of us in the U.S. are living through a time and regime quite similar to the fascist Empire portrayed in Andor, and later (chronologically in the story, though the movies were made earlier) in the Star Wars movies. It’s really quite uncanny how familiar it feels. Of course even if you don’t live in the United States, what’s going on here has huge implications around the world. These are scary times.
To consider that “rebellions are built on hope” leads me to wonder if in these times, we need equal parts of:
a) truth-telling
and
b) deeply rooting ourselves in love, joy, and pleasure
We cannot allow horrific acts of injustice to become normalized, we can’t go numb to them. At the same time, we need to remember what we are truly fighting for, what gives life to our rebellion and resistance, what holds immeasurable value for us. To sustain ourselves we need to “touch peace,” as Ven. Thich Nhat Hanh might say. And as he wrote in the opening lines of Being Peace:1
Life is filled with suffering, but it is also filled with many wonders, like the blue sky, the sunshine, the eyes of a baby. To suffer is not enough. We must also be in touch with the wonders of life. They are within us and all around us, everywhere, any time.
(Those may be the best first lines ever written in a book about Buddhism.)
Here are some images of the wonders of life, of what’s been nourishing my body, mind, and soul these past few weeks:
And finally, here’s a short list of readings and people who are a source of hope/joy/pleasure for me right now:
When No Thing Works by Norma Wong
I just started reading this book and I’m appreciating Roshi Norma’s blending of Zen and Indigenous wisdom. The subtitle tells you what it covers: “A Zen and Indigenous Perspective on Resilience, Shared Purpose, and Leadership in the Timeplace of Collapse.” This is an eloquent call to both reflection and wholehearted engagement.adrienne maree brown actually wrote a whole book on Pleasure Activism, but you can also read a distillation of her brilliant thinking in this 2022 article from Yes! magazine: “The Power of Pleasure.”
A couple of the photos I shared above were taken by my friend Amy Gilbertson, a gifted therapist who specializes in supporting caregivers, helping professionals, and those going through a grieving process. As she says on her website, “For the stretched, the tired, the discouraged. A place to slow down, tend to your heart, and rediscover wellness. A place of refuge. This is a space where hope resides.” Amy is licensed to work with people in the state of Texas. If you live there and you’d like to learn more about her work, visit Resonance Counseling.
I’d love to hear what’s bringing you hope, pleasure, joy, and love these days. Please join the conversation and leave a comment below!
The book links included in this post go to Bookshop.org, where I have an affiliate account. If you purchase the books using those links, I receive a small portion of the sale. This is a lovely way to get great books, avoid Amazon, and support The Practice of Life!
This is what spiritual resistance should look like, equal parts grit and grace, truth-telling and bento boxes.
You’re not just naming the fire. You’re handing out water, recipes, and a playlist.
So many people can diagnose collapse. Fewer remember to whisper joy back into the ruins. And you’re doing just that, giving us a path forward made of lilacs, full moons, and fierce tenderness.
We don’t need more prophets of doom. We need rebellion built on wonder. Thanks for showing how to savor without surrendering.
-Virgin Monk Boy
Dear Maia, thanks for the encouraging words and photos. I’m glad your window is repaired. I also enjoyed the Andor series. The series showed in detail how fascist empires and struggling rebellions are only made of people. People who can be corrupted and redeemed. The show explored the fear of people serving within the invincible empire, and the bravery of people fighting against all odds. People caught in the storm of causes and conditions.