Illegitimi Non Carborundum

*Reminder: Cultivating joy is resistance. Shining your light is power.

Credit: Photo by Lidya Nada on Unsplash

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The first three hours of my day are generally dedicated to walking three dogs, one right after the other. To me, good dog ownership is taking your pup for a walk, and all three of our chaos monsters do best when they get personalized attention for anywhere from 45 to 60 minutes.

The bonus is that I genuinely love it. Walking is a joyful activity for me, and I use the time to think about my creative work, repeat mantras, listen to my favorite tunes and clear my head. I also intentionally walk through the parts of the city that I delight in the most, the ones that have a lot of vibrant murals or green spaces and Beltline stretches that lead to restaurants with breakfast burritos on the menu.

Today was an interesting morning to be out and about. I saw significantly more runners than usual and so, so many people walking with their faces in their phones. The anger, dismay, sadness…all of it was palpable. Not a lot of smiles this Wednesday. I tried my best to stay in my own lane, even though I love smiling at people. Too much happiness and people might get the wrong impression.

Instead, I focused on the present moment, the direction I was headed and all the confetti-colored leaves strewn about in a sort of autumnal celebration along my path. One of the routes that I walk every day takes me to an overpass where a very famous Martin Luther King, Jr., quote is painted across the entire bridge: “Darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that.”

At least one of the dogs and I venture to this spot (sometimes two of the three), and I’m reminded of the power of shining my light brighter to ward off whatever form darkness is taking these days. The mural is a rallying cry, a call to rise above.

When things feel tough or disappointing, the bold words of the bridge nudge me to acknowledge the phrase that’s been ringing in my ears all morning: Illegitimi non carborundum. Don’t let the bastards grind you down.