Day 15. I’m stuck in traffic.
It’s the travel day before Thanksgiving and I’ve spent today working, running errands, and loading the car with bags and kids. So much has happened over the last two weeks. There is now, and will continue to be, a lot of waiting. Right now that waiting is very literal.
So as we inch forward on this road, it’s a good time to reflect. I’ve become a fan of meditation over the past year. For me the practice of sitting still mentally has made me better able to pause, and take time to decide my approach in important situations. I think this calmer, measured approach helps me keep me natural tendency to freak out in check. I’m happier, and I’m doing better work.
These posts have demanded a life of their own; I’m happy to oblige, but I want to keep them sustainable. I’ve started that effort by keeping my actions relatively incremental and small. Now I want to start thinking longer term. For me today that means two things.
1. Asking: what are you willing to do? And just as importantly: what are you not willing to do? (You can see why this makes me feel like I’m stuck in traffic, right?)
2. As I’m contemplating, I’m about to start reading my latest book purchase,
Engines of Liberty: The Power of Citizen Activists to Make Constitutional Law, by my old professor, David Cole. Cole did a lot of work on detention issues post-9/11, and came up frequently in my Korematsu reading. He was out in front of those asking questions about Guantánamo. I was very heartened to learn that he’s about to become Legal Director of the ACLU.
If you’ve been following these posts you may have an interest in citizen activism and the impact it can have. So I’m asking: does anyone want to read this book along with me?
Get where you’re going safely, everyone.
Vine & Figtree 
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