Years ago, I heard the author Anne Lamott speak at an event, and at one point she said, “If you’re a girl over 12 years old in this country and not really mad, I think you’ve missed the boat.” From the #metoo movement to the worldwide sex trafficking trade, how can we not be angry about the age-old exploitation of women—of our sisters, mothers, daughters, friends, selves? And then there’s everything else we might be feeling angry or sad or fearful about in our world today: global warming and natural disasters, mass shootings and homelessness, systemic racism and corporate greed and abused animals and drunk driving.
How do we not let our outrage and fear get the best of us, as we limp toward Thanksgiving, toward the end of 2017? Sometimes the very last thing we want to do is what we most need for our healing. When we’re stuck in the dark place, shaking with fear or anger, disappointed in how our own lives are turning out, the way to turn on the lights is thankfulness.
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