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Editor’s Note: Jessica DuLong is a Brooklyn-based journalist, ghostwriter, book coach and author of “Saved on the Boardwalk: Sept. 11 Boat Lift Stories” and “My River Chronicles: Rediscovering the Work That built America. “
(CNN) – Maggie Smith’s poem “Good Bones” was circulated again on social media amid the post-election vote count limbo that fueled the fires of already heightened American anxiety. This came as no surprise to Smith, whose remarkable ability to recognize darkness while clinging tenaciously to hope is built into the 17 lines of free verse. He has started calling the poem “a disaster barometer” because it resurfaces every time “people need to process, or need comfort or reassurance.”
Written in the voice of a mother struggling to explain the world’s contradictions to her young children, “Good Bones” first went viral after the controversial 2016 elections and was dubbed “the official poem of 2016” by Public Radio. International at a time when a lot of news The media really wondered if that year had earned the title of “The worst year in history.”
Turns out 2016 had nothing in 2020.
When Smith began writing his new book, “Keep Moving,” he had no idea how much the world would be suffering when he came out. She composed the book meditations and short essays for herself, one Twitter post at a time, as she faced the end of her 18-year marriage. His “notes to myself” have resonated deeply with many of us struggling to mourn our own losses in the midst of a pandemic.
This conversation has been edited slightly for clarity.
CNN: What have you heard from readers about how the book has connected with them during this time?
Maggie Smith: The mental space I was in when I wrote this book is, frankly, the same mental space that many of us are in because we no longer recognize our lives and we don’t know what’s coming. Many of us have experienced real losses due to the pandemic: loss of life, loss of employment, suffering relationships, career paths that are suddenly uncertain, or we have children at home learning while we try to manage everything else.
The center of the Venn diagram where uncertainty, pain, anger, sadness, and confusion overlap is a very dark place. We need to tap into the best parts of ourselves to overcome this: our endurance, courage, and faith in what is possible. I think the book is reaching people that way.
CNN: What practices have you discovered that could help people move forward?
Blacksmith: One is to make time every day to do something that makes you feel like your core self. For me, that is writing. For others, it is meditation, yoga, spiritual practice, running, lifting weights, singing, painting. Do whatever helps you create what I describe as a snow globe moment, when everything outside calms down and you can be alone with yourself in a way that feels safe, healthy, and generative.
Another is gratitude. Recently, I asked people on Twitter to tell me about a good thing that happened to them during the day. After reading and responding to those comments all day, I slept the first full night in months. I don’t think it’s an accident; letting all the good invade you is really important.
Paying attention also helps. Poetry has taught me to notice. It’s hard to stay down when you take a walk and notice that the light is filtering through the leaves. Solve your problem? No. But it can get you out of the basement from where you are. Maybe I’ll take you upstairs so you can function.
CNN: Can you talk a bit about what you call “beauty emergencies”?
Blacksmith: These days, we often end up anxiously updating the news. Every new bit of negativity turns into one of those shock collars for dogs. It’s so jarring. We’re not getting: “Breaking news: the sun is filtering through the leaves in an amazing way on South Roosevelt Avenue.”
We usually think of an emergency as a problem, but the word comes from “emerging”, which simply means “happening now.” A beauty emergency is a wonderful thing to look at immediately because it is fleeting. If you wait five minutes, a pink sky will no longer be pink. We need to train ourselves to think of emergencies in a different way and also show ourselves to the good things.
CNN: How do we go from surviving to thriving in the midst of adversity?
Blacksmith: My friend, the poet Dana Levin, recently said something about healing versus resistance. Healing is the ideal, right? We want to be better. But resistance suggests something different, which is not that we get over it. Instead, we learn to handle it better. Realistic expectations are important. No daily practice will make everything okay. But it can improve things a bit. And that could help you become more functional or more yourself.
CNN: How does suffering connect us to others?
Blacksmith: The whole world is suffering from this pandemic right now. But it is also true that the whole world is working to solve a single problem. Now, all of our collective imagination, wisdom and innovation are channeled towards solving this problem. I find this sense of unity really comforting. Consider the benefits we will reap on the empathy continuum from this shared experience.
CNN: I’ve been thinking a lot lately about Audre Lorde’s statement that “poetry is not a luxury.” Poetry is often dismissed as ethereal, fringe, or indulgent. How do arts and culture help us to overcome difficulties?
Blacksmith: We all lean heavily on the arts right now, especially since we are apart. Even people who would likely vote against art funding are watching Netflix. They probably have artwork hanging in their homes. What has helped me get through this year is buying too many records, listening to so much music, watching good movies, and writing and reading a lot. We sometimes think of the arts as a luxury and sadly they are often financed as a luxury. But for me, they are essential. Making art is a human endeavor that connects us with other people. The arts enlighten you even if you don’t speak the language. I don’t want to live in a world that doesn’t value, fund, or make those connections possible for people.
CNN: How is your conversion to a “recovering pessimist” going? Is there hope for the rest of us?
Blacksmith: I used to think optimism was weak and a bit silly because smart people could see the world for what it was. Now I see optimism and vulnerability as signs of strength. It takes courage to see the good when things are tough, when the darkness screams so loud and takes up so much space.
There is a kind of privilege in pessimism because if things are really going wrong and you are in survival mode, you cannot afford to be pessimistic. “Keep Moving” is my attempt to tell myself a kinder story about what is possible.
In the beginning, I tried to hope every day. It felt terrible: itchy, itchy, too big. I couldn’t wait to get it off. It was so uncomfortable trying to be hopeful when things were feeling miserable. But I found that the act of trying, of looking for something to feel positive about, made a difference over time. I proved to myself that I could be optimistic.
The world is terrible. And the world is wonderful. Right? Are both.
This story was first published on CNN.com, “How to Deal With Grief and Persist in the Middle of a Pandemic.
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