First Person Singular by Wendy Braitman

Is This the New Normal?

I spent the weekend in San Francisco, where everyone is boiling mad. In a city where there’s such political consensus, no one held back from expressing their rage. It was palpable. On my return home today, I emailed two political organizers who were my mentors. It’s because of them that I stopped whining from the sidelines and got into activism. One recently helped run Hillary’s (successful) state campaign in Nevada. The other is the head of a multi-faith grassroots organization. After 6 days of mourning, I’m tired of being sad. I’m ready for action, but I want leaders to guide me. On Sunday, I’ll be attending a meeting and will report back. I appreciate the stirrings here from readers who are considering getting involved in whatever ways you can. Democracy works better when we all participate. Keep us posted with what you’re doing.

Illustration by Akvile Miseviciute

Hard Rain

On top of everything, Leonard Cohen dies. It’s too much.

What Do You Mourn? What Do You Pledge?

Last night, I went to a vigil organized by my synagogue. We came together in sadness, prayer and song in search of hope for a better tomorrow. We were given post-its and a marker pen, and asked to write answers to the following questions:

What do you mourn?

What do you pledge?

Being in community is so vital right now. Please continue to share your thoughts as we move through these stormy waters. And when you’re ready, let’s get busy.

Illustration by Debbie Millman

Mourning in America

It’s with such a heavy heart that I post today. It’s like right after a death. People are walking around going about their daily lives, but the landscape feels different. In Los Angeles, the temperature is in the mid-nineties, and the sun is blaring. But everything looks gray. I haven’t climbed out of despair yet, so I can’t offer platitudes. One of the most hopeful things I read was a tweet from the Washington Post journalist David Fahrentholdt, who has done such stellar reporting during this election season. Even though it didn’t seem to move the needle, today he writes: “Please keep reading as this new chapter begins. Back to work!” And so it goes….  Maybe tomorrow will bring more light.

Drawing by Nicoläs Villamizar

The World is Watching

Created by Eugen Erhan & Tudor Muscalu

Grateful For You

Heading into this anxious weekend just days until the election, I appreciate the FPS community so much. You help keep me sane.

Neon by Sygns

Is it Time to Test Your Idea?

I’m reading a new book called Designing Your Life written by two Stanford Professors (and Silicon Valley entrepreneurs) who teach a class by the same name. They’ve created a method to navigate change based on what they’ve learned as designers. And one of their suggestions that I really love is “prototyping” new ideas, by testing them first in small ways. This helps mitigate risk and failure. What idea have you been thinking about that you’d like to test?

Part of gathering information for your idea might involve networking. Check out my latest Career Coaching post about how to network and have fun.

Illustration by Michael Dumontier and Neil Farber

He’s With Her

I love Louis CK and was happy to hear his full-throated endorsement of Hillary Clinton. But I had a couple of issues with it, including his idealization of mothers. Am I being harsh? What’s your take?

Late Fall

This is aspirational for those of us in L.A. But I appreciate the glimpse.

Smartphone photo taken in Minneapolis by David Guttenfelder