Waffles, Resistance, and Finding Wisdom from Toni Morrison

“What brings me even greater lasting joy is knowing that men and women like you carry on the good work—truly, you are a voice that must speak, a pen that must write, in these days and nights of chaos.” - Lynn Anderson Scherer Keough, my 8th grade teacher

Mobile: Redpopblue in Chicago ++ waffles

Waffles.

It’s been nearly 5 months since I’ve posted.

And all I can say is “waffles”?

I’ve come to this keyboard many times.

But nothing ever surfaced.

Words pulled down, unfathomably heavy.

“Maybe tomorrow,” I say. “Maybe tomorrow.”

Enter Toni. Morrison, that is.

She doesn’t mince words.

“This is precisely the time when artists go to work.”

“But,” I reply, “I don’t know what to say. The words, they all feel trite, desperate, meaningless.”

“There is no time for despair,” she explains, “no place for self-pity, no need for silence, no room for fear. We speak, we write, we do language. That is how civilizations heal.”

“But I’m just one person,” I say. “How can what I share matter, make a difference, help?”

“Is it your place to say?” she asks. “I know the world is bruised and bleeding, and though it is important not to ignore its pain, it is also critical to refuse to succumb to its malevolence. Like failure, chaos contains information that can lead to knowledge — even wisdom. Like art.’”

And my eighth grade teacher and dear faraway friend puts an exclamation on the point with her words from a recent email.

And so I’m done succumbing.

And so: waffles.

The word “waffle” comes from the Frankish “wafla” or honeycomb.

Built from wax they create, honeycomb is home and hideaway. It protects and sustains. Filled with future – eggs, larvae, and pupae – and past – stores of honey and pollen – honeycomb is sign and symbol of active hope lived every day in the present.

Bees literally create the world they want to live in.

And maybe that’s why, over these past five months, I’ve been eating waffles every day.

And, yes, as a gluten free vegan that makes me happy.

And that’s why I think I’ll begin sharing these little joys with you.

What small (or big) thing(s) are you doing to sustain yourself, to find a honeycomb of joy, these days?

Sending a virtual (((hug))) to you and your heart.

Quotes from the inimitable Toni Morrison.