In the aftermath of the Trump victory last week, many of us who are dismayed by the outcome have been inundated with messages filling our email inboxes—blogs, rants, analysis, warnings, edicts, calls to action, and more.  Some have been comforting, some scolding, some helpful, some hard to read.  One thing I have noticed is the number of writers who have resorted to lists—lists of what we should do, lists of what we should not do, lists of what steps to take to move forward.  Lists seem to be popular right now—as a way to organize our thinking and make our key points pop out.

At the risk of imposing one-too-many lists on our readers, I am jumping into the fray and offering my not-connected and not-prioritized list of things to consider as we face a Trump presidency and ask each other endlessly: What now?

• Mourn and organize.  In the days following the election, Gloria Steinem wrote a piece charging us not to mourn but to organize.  Rabbi Arthur Waskow wrote an article in which he advised: first mourn, then organize.  I think they both got it wrong.  Our heads and our hearts are not that neatly divided—I think we need to mourn and organize simultaneously.  We feel horrible, weep occasionally, experience our despair, AND we meet with like-minded folks, organize gatherings, talk strategies for the future, and go on.

Few of us can put our lives totally on hold while we take time simply to mourn.  And few of us can simply devote ourselves to organizing.  But throughout our days we are managing to do both—to feel our feelings and also connect with others in order to make plans to create positive change.  Our heads and our hearts are working over-time right now—experiencing enormous feelings of grief and sorrow, and planning our acts of resistance and renewal all at the same time.  And we will be mourning and organizing, simultaneously, for years to come.

• Think hyper-local. I believe one good strategy to help us feel our feelings and plan our acts of resistance is to gather with like-minded folks on our block, in our apartment building, in our neighborhood.  Small groups, able to gather easily and often, are forming throughout this community and throughout the country.  Little groups of a dozen or so neighbors who want support and also want to prepare to take action in the months and years ahead are meeting and making commitments to each other to stick together, think of creative actions that demonstrate our resistance and hope for constructive change, and plan ways to achieve a positive outcome.  Big actions and national marches are also great—everything helps.  But small clusters of folks, in the affinity group model, will help us do sustained, creative, and effective work as we face the rise of a vocal and frightening right-wing agenda in this country.

• Refuse to adapt to the current climate as the new normal.  We must support one another as we refuse to let a rising tide of regressive, discriminatory, unjust and possibly illegal policies and practices in our country be normalized.

We must remain informed, engaged, outraged, and willing to say over and over again that what is unfolding in our country is not a new expression of democracy, but a repudiation of the fundamental principles and values that make our country noble.

• Suit up for the revolution.  The day after the election I announced to my family that I was going into “Trump Training”—to get as fit, clear, healthy and ready as I could for the long meetings, marches, strategy sessions, and possibly days and weeks in jail that lay ahead.  We have to prepare.  It is time for non-violent boot camp, we have to be in peak form to withstand the assaults on our bodies, minds, hearts, and spirits.

• Do more good than usual.  Each of us is engaged in good work that strengthens community, brings comfort, confronts oppression, combats discrimination, encourages generosity, and promotes compassion.  Whatever it is that we did last month, we now need to increase our efforts.

I believe that even small acts of goodness reverberate in ways we cannot see and fortify the connective tissue that binds us, one to another.  Whatever goodness you have been contributing to the community and the cosmos, thank you.  Keep doing what you do—we need moral courage and models of kindness as we move forward to face a dangerous time.