Musings from Meg: an ode to the “problem” makers

Darling Community,

I’m writing this to you from backstage at our community theater, before I head back on to sing in the second act of The Sound of Music.

My daughter and I have one more dress rehearsal before opening night – she’s playing Brigitta Von Trapp, and I’m Sister Sophia.  

This whole being-on-a-stage-thing is not something I would have predicted for me, at the start of the year. But motherhood has a way of pushing you outside of your comfort zone, and here I find myself with my stage-loving child, attempting to solve the “problem” of Maria.

Maria’s “problem” is exactly why we love her:

She is a person who cannot be put in a box.

She makes lots of mistakes, but shrugs them off and continues on unperturbed.

She exemplifies the power of music to soothe nerves, usher in joy, and provide resolve in difficult circumstances.

She will not be subjugated to unjust rules.

She stands up for children.

(And finally – and especially poignant to us fiber artists – she makes a whole upcycled clothing collection out of old curtains! Queen!)

She is a defiant moonbeam, and her character should guide us during these wildly unsettling times.

So sing into the face of fascism, my feisty, creative rebels. Whatever form your creative resistance takes, big or small – know that you are a “problem” – a thorn in the side of oligarchy – that can never be “solved!”

From my world….

 I am an impetuous creature, for better or for worse, and as soon as I started seeing news of the massive, citizen-led humanitarian aid flotilla sailing to break Israel’s siege on Gaza, I knew the time had come to dig in to Ann Wood ‘s paper mache boat pattern that I’ve had on the creative back burner for years now.

Thousands of activists from over 44 countries are coming together in one of the largest humanitarian missions in history: carrying aid to the people of Gaza when their governments and the UN have failed to act.

Follow @globalsumudflotilla to keep up to date on their mission, which has already experienced two drone attacks, intended to scare the flotilla into abandoning their plans. (They sail on.)

Get ready to pressure your embassies and elected officials to protect the non-violent humanitarians in case of abduction or attack in international waters.

Here’s a little video we made of the process of making these boats:

“Whenever you face injustice, remind yourself to defend it by finding beauty..document it, protect it, and defend it, because all beauty is resistance.”

Tamim al-barghouti

Yours in creativity and action, 
Meg