Category Archives: communication

Love notes for Solidarity

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“Quiet, piggy.”

It makes me seethe.

Friend pointed me to Andy Borowitz’s Facebook post (11/18/2025) where he shares the transcript of Katie Johnson’s (pseudonym) testimony for a lawsuit she brought against Donald Trump in 2016 for allegedly raping her when she was 13. This led me to Borowitz’s Substack post in which he interviews Kate Manne and discusses the allegations, the media’s tepid response, and the implications of both. Manne states, “Is this proof beyond a reasonable doubt? No. Is this something which we can be absolutely confident happened? I don’t think so. But those are legal standards, not moral ones, and they’re not epistemic ones either. Can we say, if we’re assessing the evidence soberly, that what she says is credible, and can I say I believe her? Absolutely.”

I shared Tanya Eby’s Facebook post (11/19/2025) with my own caption, “Fuck. Yes. I am Piggy. Hear me fucking ROAR” in response to her call, “For every woman out there, for anyone who has ever been abused, for every reporter who is trying to tell the truth, this is the time to embrace your own inner Miss Piggy and speak the truth out loud. Stay centered. Stay rooted. Ask the questions. Embrace your marvelous.”

Harry Shannon posted this on his Instagram page (11/19/2025): “Women reporters will ask Trump difficult questions and suffer his insults while the men in the room look like timid little puppies afraid to upset their master. Are there no men in Washington?” The last sentence landed sideways on me. I understand where it comes from, and it further reinforces our cultural gender dichotomy. Trump’s misogyny and our culture’s tolerance of it is intrinsic by now. And it’s up to all of us, not just men or women, to stand up to it. We are human, and none of us should tolerate for any of us to be treated this way, or for the ‘leader’ of the free world to set such a toxic example.

from Instagram

I could write a dozen Love Notes for Anger. Anger can be an appropriate and healthy response to violations of our core values. But it’s not the vibration I want to emit tonight. What we do with our rage is what matters. And right now the best thing I can think of is to express (and then act productively on) my solidarity with our shared humanity. Whenever I make statements like this I think of Donald Trump, and challenge myself to include him, the most despicable human I can think of right now, in my calls for compassion, kindness, empathy, generosity, etc. 99.5% of me has lost all hope for reconciling his character, and I also believe in miracles. So until we witness divine intervention or something akin, I choose to direct my time, energy, and resources toward the light, like that scene in Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince when Dumbledore dies and folks at Hogwarts aim their lit wands to the sky to dissipate the Dark Lord’s black cloud.

We Are Piggy. We’ Got This:

  1. You are worthy of dignity and respect just by virtue of your existence. May I train the fortitude to remind those who deny you this.

2. The defender of humaneness in me calls to the defender of humaneness in you. May we march forward, protecting HUMANITY.

3. I see you. Your humanity is my humanity. May I never forget, and stand up for you when you need me.

4. The first challenger gets dismissed. May the rest of us step up, shoulder to shoulder, and brave the backlash–TOGETHER. Our strength is synergistic.

5. When we see someone’s humanity attacked, may we not only not participate, but may we find the courage to counter. Resist firmly and non-adversarially. We can do it.

6. My Why is connection. My Just Cause is healing relationships and maximizing the greater good through mutual respect. How can we work together this way?

7. Hurt people hurt people, as they say. Wow, LOTS of hurt people walking around now. May you heal your hurt and turn the tide around in your little corner. I hold you up.

8. May your inner Miss Piggy shine. Never let anyone diminish your awesomeness. Own your strength and toss that hair like a queen.

9. We may think love makes us weak and vulnerable. But what greater force is there to drive sacrifice and sustained advocacy? Stoke the love. Stand strong.

10. How do you need me to show up for you? May I do it bravely, lovingly, and with conviction.

11. I know I take my privilege for granted. Your struggles affect me, even if I don’t see it. May I work for your freedom from the worst of our culture.

12. When I witness abuse, may I be a brave upstander and may you join me, leading others to follow.

These turned out better than I anticipated. The call to unity is strong. Let us answer in kind.

Love Notes for Bridging Difference

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The PA student wellness talk went great! 42 or so junior colleagues engaged with me and my badly designed PowerPoint for ninety minutes and I had the BEST time! I realized this morning that for the youngest of them (about half the class), the pandemic hit during high school and the beginning of college. It reminds me of The Fourth Turning and how significantly the intersection of phase of life with momentous human events influences our world views. This summer I was challenged to address the impact of generational differences on organizational culture in a corporate wellness talk, and I started to see age and generation as another form of diversity.

“Respect and challenge the hierarchy,” occurred to me for students this year. We elders (some very elder indeed) still run things, and our experience and wisdom matter. We also have much to learn from our juniors, from their fresh and diverse perspectives. If we can all lead, from any chair, by humble and confident example, our professional culture will progress toward stronger inclusiveness and mutual respect.

I continue to seek conversation and connection with both conservative and progressive friends around politics. But I want to go deeper than news headlines and the loudest arguments. I want to know what core goals and values we share, to start walking together to see where our paths diverge. Where are our shared destinations, and why do you choose 90/94 while I choose Lake Shore Drive? What are the dis/advantages of each, what are the trade-offs?

I am really starting to miss more long form posting here, how fascinating! We are 60% through this daily blogging challenge. Many thanks to all who have followed along (Hi Mick and Donna!), and welcome to any new friends! Now let’s see how much love we can find across difference:

  1. Keep your antennae tuned for those who would divide us to serve their own purposes. This is NOT our better nature. Resist them and stay connected!

2. You and I disagree on this today. That may not necessarily be the case in the future. We can keep our minds open to change, without shame or judgement.

3. You don’t believe everything I believe. But let us not let that stop us from staying curious and connecting anyway. May we see light in each other no matter what.

4. The holidays can challenge our patience and resilience to triggers. *deep breath* May we stand firmly in love and ties of respect and shared history to get us through gratefully.

5. Our biases come honestly or not, we inherit many and form others organically. It’s a human thing. But let us hold them loosely and let them go to connect to one another.

6. Today and all days, may our differences feel softer, less threatening, and approachable with openness, light, and optimism for connection.

7. How wonderfully diverse we all are! How boring the world would be if we were all the same! May we appreciate and celebrate every spectrum!

8. To my friends who vote differently and sit with me over a meal or coffee to discuss–thank you. Our persistent and resilient connection gives me hope for our future.

9. I love you because we share important things in common. And the places where we differ teach me, make me better. Because of our love.

10. One deep breath can be the difference between a connecting moment and a destructive one. Let our breath give us the space to make the connecting choice.

11. Humility Curiosity Empathy Kindness Generosity — Is there any theme of love note NOT founded on these?

12. These fun music mash-ups like AC/DC-BeeGees — If we can so easily and artfullly blend divergent melodic creations, why not try with our policy ideas? We are a creative species, no?

Oh, I like this set, friends. Onward to 30!

Love Notes for Learning

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Ooo, it’s late. Of course I procrastinated revising my presentation to the last minute. Tomorrow I get to talk to first year physician assistant students about burnout and well-being. How fun to look each time at the prior year’s slides and see how much is unchanged, as well as what has evolved in the interim. Mostly I feel increasingly informal, collegial, practical, and just a little maternal in my approach. It’s about calling forth just a few things to hold in front through training and career: Meaning, Mission, Connection, and Lifelong Learning.

So let’s see what twelve love notes emerge from this mindset, shall we?

  1. What a wonde(r)fully wide and awesome world to behold when we take a beginner’s mind and open ourselves to new experience and connection anywhere, anytime!

2. May you see and encouner the wise teacher in every person you meet today. We can learn something valuable from any encounter if we are just open to it.

3. Holy cow, there is too much to ever learn or know! So follow your curiosity in the moment–anything you learn is something you can apply later!

4. Curiosity is such a vastly more fun and interesting mindset than certainty! Not mutually exclusive, and definitely in need of balance.

5. Dear darling, may you never lose that child-like awe and wonder at the marvels that surround us! It keeps us out of cynicism and despair, I am convinced.

6. Wishing you a day of relaxed, eye opening, insightful, and connecting intellectual sparks today! Because that kind of energy fuels us and keeps the world turning!

7. At some point today, may we embody the qualities of our very favorite teachers. It’s never about the information; it’s about the love, the kindness, and the relationship. 🙂

8. What a privilege to befriend young people! The diversity of perspective among age(s) and generations opens us! May your friends span the decades!

9. Huh. We’re kinda all teachers, leading by example that others either want to follow or NOT. So let us watch which examples we ourselves follow, eh?

10. Let us take on a student mindset often. Show up. Open up. Invite the lesson. Study. Dedicate ourselves to absorb, integrate, and apply. So much possibility, OMG!

11. Whatever super cool new random thing you learn next, please share! We all do better when we spread the love of learning throughout life, right?

12. Nobody can possibly know everything! Someone will always know more than you or I do about something. How cool! What if we all shared freely and generously?

Until tomorrow, friends. Take good care of your ever expanding minds and hearts!