Fear is real. But I choose to root myself in something longer-lasting: intention, survival, and joy. Because eventually, SOMETHING’S GOTTA GIVE. And when it does, we’ll still be standing.

Every day feels a little like Erica Barry’s crying montage in Something’s Gotta Give. That scene isn’t just a breakup breakdown, it’s a full-body metaphor for modern survival. The tears, the typing, the tissues, the chaos...it’s basically my spirit animal at any given point of the day. And maybe that’s why I believe the heartbreak I’m seeing across the country can also be turned into something that holds me, and others, together.

And that’s the same way I feel when I scroll my feeds. I see so many people confessing their fear. They are scared of what’s coming, scared of what America already feels like, scared of where we are headed. And I understand it. Fear is not weakness. It is human. It is a natural response to a time that feels unstable and overwhelming. To admit you are afraid is not failure, it is proof that you are awake. It is proof that you are paying attention.

This is not the season for slogans that smooth over reality. We are in a moment of history that is serious and hard. The ground feels unstable because it is. Fear is one of the most natural emotions to sit with. If you’re afraid, you are not weak. You are awake. You are paying attention.

But for me, fear is not the emotion that stays. I feel frustration. I feel sadness. I feel anger. Yet what rises up again and again is not fear. It is a kind of determination. A fire that insists I move with sharper clarity, deeper patience, and a steadier hand than ever before.

Fear can paralyze us. But intention moves us. And we cannot afford paralysis.

When I feel overwhelmed by what this country has become, by the corruption, the cruelty, the dismantling of rights and protections, I turn to the things that remind me why survival is not only necessary but sacred. I turn to my writing. I turn to poetry. I turn to novels. I let words help me sort what my body feels before my mind can catch up. That is where I find clarity. That is where I remember I am not powerless. Even when systems collapse around us, art, imagination, and language remain proof of our humanity.

I don’t share this to say you should feel the same. Fear is valid. Fear belongs. But I want to offer that there are other spaces waiting for you when you are ready to step toward them. Spaces where hope still flickers. Spaces where inspiration still breathes. You don’t need to rush to them, but they are there.

Maybe for you it is music that calms you. Maybe it is cooking a meal and feeding people you love. Maybe it is prayer, or gardening, or walking, or building something with your hands. Maybe it is sitting in a circle with people who know you and won’t let you collapse under the weight alone.

Whatever it is, turn toward it. Let it hold you. Let it ground you.

Because survival is not only about gritting our teeth through the storm. It is about finding sustainable ways to move, to resist, and to keep living in the midst of instability. It is about building the muscles that will last when the adrenaline fades. Fear may spark us, but it cannot be our fuel. Purpose can. Joy can. Care can.

This is what I mean when I say survival is a purpose. There is no shame in reshaping how we move so that our bodies and minds can endure the long fight ahead. That is not weakness. That is wisdom. The movements that last are not only born from outrage. They are sustained by care.

So yes, I see the fear. I honor it. But I also see something else. A steadiness. A deliberate intelligence. A collective will to not only survive this era, but to outlast it. And in outlasting it, to shape what comes after.

That is the energy I choose to sit in. That is the fire that stays with me. And I invite you to find yours too.

Still here. Still her. Still with you.

Tasha Monroe

Founder, Simply Edyn & Co.

Writer & Editor, The Commons Dispatch

 

 

PS- This is a short clip from one of my favorite film scenes in the movie Something's Gotta Give, directed by Nancy Meyers. Erica is a successful and fantastic playwright who finds herself experiencing true heartbreak (aka. similar to when a country breaks your heart) and decides to turn her pain into purpose...AND WRITES HER HEART OUT!