The How and Why of Being Important

TODAY’S BREW: National Coffee Day doesn’t end for me.

By Julie 

I’m excited–unreasonably excited–about my next book release. I admit this. It’s coming on Halloween.

But people in Puerto Rico have no water. And Trump is inhuman, and people are suffering, people we can help, yet all he does is insult them and leave them to die.

My book isn’t important the way that is important. It’s important that I write, words create a better world, a more intelligent world, a more caring world, but right now? Getting glittery bookmarks isn’t important. Puerto Rico is important. Don’t get me wrong, what’s happening in all of our lives is important, and disaster elsewhere does not make our own issues disappear, but it’s a different kind of important. My stuff goes to the backburner in this political, this human condition. I think we all feel that way to a degree. WHY THE HELL ARE YOU BITCHING ABOUT WHAT KIND OF JUICE YOU WANT WHEN IN PUERTO RICO THEY HAVE NO FUCKING JUICE NOW DRINK THIS GODDAMN CAPRI SUN AND BE THANKFUL. Right? The natural feeling that our joys and our pains are important gets in a bar brawl with the knowledge of how horrible other people have it right now, at this very minute. Leaves us with a lack of focus, doesn’t it? This feeling that nothing matters sometimes, but then that everything matters because we can only control what we can control and this all ends. That thankfulness for what’s good in life has to drive us in times of crisis. And gratitude for the time and the privileges we have somehow helps those who are suffering so.

It is a lack of focus. It is. It’s a mess, a tornado of anger and guilt and gratitude that we all feel, that brings us all together. At least those of us with HUMAN HEARTS and normal hair.

I’m here to say that your stuff IS IMPORTANT. Yes, Puerto Rico is experiencing something that we are just fucking lucky to not know, and it’s happening every minute, real time, while we complain that we have to get up to do laundry or make an appointment. Your stuff is still important, too. Life as you know it is important. Your laundry, your appointments, your feelings, your exhaustion and your happiness and the things you look forward to.

I look forward to a lot this time of year. Halloween soothes me, all of the Halloween everything. The decorations, the music, the air, the colors, the apple picking, the pumpkins, the movies, Halloween Wars on the Food Network, the Spooktacular at the zoo we go to every year…. This is the stuff I live for. And to have a book coming out, one that is so close to my heart, THE WIND BETWEEN WORLDS, makes it all even better. I can’t stop thinking about it, wanting to do more for it. That’s okay. I should be excited. I won’t feel guilty about telling my happy news in a timeline full of crippling news retweets and shares. I have to do what I can do in my world to make my world better.

I spent last week every day running my kids’ school’s Scholastic Book Fair. I do this a few times a year, and I throw myself into it like a lunatic. I do everything humanly possible to make sure every child gets the book they want, no matter what their financial situation is. There’s nothing more important than that to me, to give these kids OPPORTUNITY. To show them that reading what they like is important. To give them choices. And when they see my paperbacks in a stack next to me, they just light up, it’s amazing to watch. These kids have hopes and dreams and you know what? Me showing how important reading and writing is to these kids is what will make future generations more understanding than the Trumpies. This is how I can matter. So I run with it. I run a writing club/class for a month or so every year at the school, and I talk to any class that wants me about writing, and I help the kids who need it with putting their words to paper and feeling okay about it not being perfect, because words can change everything. Maybe not this second, but sometimes this second. I was able to give one little girl a pricey craft kit from the book fair, a crocheting thing or something, I don’t know, I just write books, but the next day I saw her 3 times walking around with the pillow she was making, carrying the book and the materials under her arm.

I gave her that kit, one she wouldn’t have had otherwise, and maybe it sparked something in her. Maybe this is something she’s passionate about. And I helped. It MATTERS.

So remember that the things you do make a difference. The smile you give at the grocery store, the way you brush off the anger when someone cuts you off, the kind word you give to someone who needs it, this stuff creates a world one piece at a time. Hopefully a world where people help each other without expecting anything back, and where everyone shares the same concerns.

I also want to say that taking care of you matters too. If you need help, ask for it. If you feel hopeless, reach out. Know that your happiness matters to someone, that your life matters to someone. People feel beaten these days. Be the person who lifts others up when they need it, tell them how crucial they are to you. And these same people will be there for you when you feel beaten. Because that emotional storm of anger, guilt, helplessness? It comes back again and again. The confusion and disbelief has us all on a roller coaster. But you are no less important among the debris this storm is slinging than anyone else. Your life matters, your life is important, and we are all important together. Be passionate about your life, and it will inspire others to be the same. Together we can change so much if we believe in ourselves and each other first, and show that we SEE each other.

I know this has gone ranty, but for me, it makes sense. Be good to each other under the foot of a dirtbag overlord that doesn’t know how to care about anyone. It is what we do in the small moments that will create a strong environment, a brighter future. Be important.