If you know where plastic comes from
you may experience overwhelming grief
when you see a child’s dinosaur toy
abandoned in a vacant lot.
The language of inclusion
Neurodiversity, like gender diversity, sexual orientation diversity, racial diversity, is just language to describe the vast territory of human variation. Where once our language was simple, our categories few, and our understanding limited, we now are able to talk about our unique being in the world with recognition, empathy, and nuanced respect.
At one time we only had names for the large and small lights in the sky: Sun, moon, stars. Then we began to see patterns, and so the Constellations formed. The deeper we look, the more we learn about the nature and vastness of existence itself. And suddenly, we can print volumes and fill institutions with the great variety of language that we have to describe what was always there.
We have only relatively recently had the tools to be able to look into the nuances of human diversity beyond the realm of human cognitive bias. What we might think of as new has always been part of the human experience in a way that we may not have developed language for–or that the biases of powerful societies have erased as they absorb and subsume older ones, whose languages are often more nuanced.
The next time someone tells you that the neurological orientation we call ADHD is caused by video games, or that vaccines cause autism, or that sexual orientation can be prayed away, or that being trans is a lifestyle choice, or that it’s a sin to marry outside of one’s race, ask them if they believe in a world beyond the constellations.
Ask them if they believe the moon landing was faked. Ask them if they believe the moon is made of cheese, or that the Earth is flat and the sun is extinguished in the ocean every night. Because what they are really saying is that they are clinging to a world of simple categories that they can understand. Pity them, but please, do not fail to educate them.
Remind them that we are more alike than different, even as we are infinitely individually unique. Remind them that we all have hordes of tiny insects living around the base of our eyelashes, and that there are bacteria living in our intestines that are waiting only for us to perish so they can make our nutrients available to the grass.
Remind them that neurodiversity, gender diversity, sexual orientation diversity, racial diversity, are not any more threatening to them than those organisms that inhabit their bodies, that on the contrary, they actually affirm the community of beings that each one is, including them. Remind them that we, as a species, are successful because of our diversity, rather than in spite of it. Remind them that inclusion includes them, too, as they cling to their paper glider as it hurtles through the vastness of space.
Happy Pride!
Poem: Knowing They Are Needed
KNOWING THEY ARE NEEDED
Organizers can go to bed early,
and wake up refreshed.
Fire tenders, blind to time, tend to stay up
all night, crafting, restless.
That is not their fault – it is just their way.
Organizers, because they see
only one way of doing their thing,
are very focused, and work together
like bees, in the bustle of day,
when the sun is high. It takes a lot of them
to get their work of organizing done. They organize
themselves into shapes. This is why
they are called organizers. On the other hand,
only a few fire tenders (who tend to scheme and craft,
in the calm of night, by the crackle of the fire)
are needed to keep the lions at bay
while the organizers sleep.
Fire tenders tend to see
a million ways to do one thing.
That is not their fault – it is just their way.
They scheme and craft, in the calm
of night, by the crackle of the fire,
and tend to dream, blind to time,
of ways to be helpful when it comes:
the time that they know they are needed.
Because there are more of them,
and because they’re so good at organizing
themselves and working together,
within their shapes,
in the bustle of day, when the sun is high,
organizers tend to believe it
when they think that their ways are best.
That is not their fault – it is just their way.
Tradition helps to keep them
focused and working together, within their shapes.
Because they are so adept
at doing one thing, the organizers
are not so good at noticing
when the way they are doing
their thing is wasting their energy.
That is not their fault – it is just their way.
Fire tenders sometimes try to share
the strategies they conceive, while scheming
and crafting, in the calm of night,
by the crackle of the fire, with the organizers,
who are not so good at knowing
what they need, or needing. The fire tenders
have become accustomed to hearing,
“that’s cute,” and “you’re overthinking it.”
Organizers can be kind of judgy.
That is not their fault – it is just their way.
Judging helps them navigate
the bustle of day, when the sun is high.
Fire tenders tend to feel a little
hurt by this, but they love the organizers,
and want to please them. That is why
they are called tenders. Because
they can only scheme and craft
in the calm of night, by the crackle of the fire,
and because they love the organizers,
and want to please them, and because
they are good at noticing when the organizers’
ways of doing their thing are wasting
their energy, and because they are good at
knowing what the organizers need, and because,
when they try to reveal the results of their schemes
and crafts in the bustle of day,
when the sun is high, they are told
“you didn’t cite your sources,” and “I love
the way your mind works,” the fire tenders
will sometimes craft maps, that show
the way to a new way of doing the thing
that the organizers are wasting energy on,
within their shapes. They know
when they are needed, and leave the maps
where the organizers will find them
when they wake up refreshed
in the bustle of day, when the sun is high.
The organizers, finding the maps
that the fire tenders made in the calm of night,
by the crackle of the fire, suddenly
see a new way of doing their thing,
within their shapes, without wasting energy.
When conditions are right, they don’t fail
to adopt the new strategy, and claim it
as their own. They are not stealing
or being vain: that is just how organizers
work. The fire tenders tend to be
untroubled by this. Blind to time, they know
when they are needed. They love the organizers,
and want to please them. That is not
their fault – it is just their way.
Because they have been so often told,
“you’re wrong,” and “just relax and be yourself”
by the organizers, the fire tenders tend
to carry around a lot of shame.
Because they are organized, the organizers
believe it when they think that
the fire tenders carry shame because
they are not able to organize themselves into shapes,
like the organizers. Though that is not
the case, sometimes the fire tenders
begin to believe it themselves. They tend
to love the organizers, and want to please them.
That is not their fault – it is just their way.
What happens when the shame
the fire tenders carry around compels them
to adopt the ways of the organizers,
whom they love and want to please,
and organize themselves into shapes,
in the bustle of day, when the sun is high,
and go to bed early, and wake up refreshed?
Who will think of a million ways to do one thing?
Who will scheme and craft maps
when they are needed, in the calm of night,
by the crackle of the fire, to point the organizers
to a new way of doing their thing without
wasting energy, within their shapes?
Who, blind to time, will know
when they are needed? Who will keep the lions at bay?
– Ryk Groetchen May 26, 2025
MAY ALL BEINGS REALIZE THEIR TRUE NATURE
EVERY DAY IS NEURODIVERSITY AWARENESS DAY
Asking for an end to violence needs no qualification
If one recognizes the Palestinian people as equally human to oneself, one will experience no moral dilemma as one simultaneously condemns their slaughter, starvation, and displacement; and desires that Hamas-held hostages be released.
On the other hand, if one finds oneself making statements which include clauses such as “sad, but,” or “you’re ignoring the hostages” or “you hate [the state or people starting with ‘I’ or the people starting with ‘J’] when someone condemns the genocide, one is experiencing the belief that human beings exist on a spectrum, and that certain tribal/political/ethnic/religious groups of people are more human, more deserving of respect and dignity, than others.
This has been covered before. “Black Lives Matter” does not need to be qualified with “All Lives Matter.” “Stop the genocide” does not need to be qualified with “bring home the hostages.” In demanding so, one’s bias is revealed.
If one is not hearing “bring home the hostages,” then one has tuned out the roar of US dollars and weapons flooding the region, which are louder and more powerful than all of the voices calling for an end to the genocide.
Extreme wealth is not compatible with democracy
Extreme wealth is not compatible with democracy. The ultrarich are cushioned from fluctuations in the political landscape that can have life-or-death consequences for regular people. Even if a billionaire lost their job and got hit by a truck tomorrow, they would be able to afford healthcare, send their kids to college, and provide safe living accommodations for their families, and still be earning interest from their wealth. On the other hand, many regular citizens are one missed paycheck away from homelessness, not to mention the millions who are already homeless and without resources.
Also, due to fundamental changes in the brain that go along with extreme wealth, the interests of capital accumulation and the common good are directly at odds with one another. It has been shown in multiple studies that material wealth decreases empathy, making it difficult for the ultrarich to even understand the issues that affect regular people on a daily basis.
Therefore, rather than the ultrarich participating in the political process like other people, or through means such as super-PACs that are not available to the common citizen, I believe that we should have a social contract that requires a sacrifice: hoard wealth, or participate in the political process. Not both. If a person is able to exercise personal restraint in wealth accumulation, let them participate along with those who are just trying to survive. Otherwise, Let them acknowledge their privilege and bow out. Edit: the legal term is “recuse themselves.” It’s the right thing to do.
This machine kills fascists
Woody Guthrie was a DJ. He used the power of the social media of his time to spread the message of anti-fascism and pro-democracy. Pete Seeger had a television show. He used the power of social media to highlight outspoken advocates for social justice in song. Nina Simone used her platform to expose the abuses of power and hypocrisy in our society and our government. Paul Robeson traveled the world and spoke out at his concerts, championing anti-fascist causes in the US and abroad. Teresa Teng encoded revolutionary messages into her pop songs. Victor Jara lost his life for using his artistry to inspire people to defend democracy and resist authoritarianism.
All of these people were blacklisted, repressed, investigated, and trivialized by the systems of power they spoke and sang against. And many regular people went along with the program, belittling them as corny, or fringe, or eccentric, or out of touch with reality. Many people who look back on these figures as heroes might have ignored or laughed at them in their heyday.
Sometimes revolution is ignored in its time, only to be looked back upon with wistful reverence.
To heck with that.
Anyone who is called to inspire their people to coordinated action for the common good knows that the work is not sexy, and will not result in accolades or personal gain. Often, it seems like the people who are most responsible for igniting our spark are the least willing to engage in our efforts. Nevertheless, our passion and our recognition of the moment compels us to continue to reach out, connect, educate, and build alliances through whatever networks we have available to us. It’s a face-to-face, word-of-mouth, phone-call-in-the-middle-of-the-night kind of thing.
Whose side are you on? Will you hear the call?
“Love in action…”
“Love in action is a harsh and dreadful thing compared with love in dreams. Love in dreams is greedy for immediate action, rapidly performed and in the sight of all. Men will even give their lives if only the ordeal does not last long but is soon over, with all looking on and applauding as though on the stage. But active love is labor and fortitude, and for some people too, perhaps, a complete science.”
Fyodor Dostoevsky, The Brothers Karamazov
I want the current administration to explode in a blaze of glory, and i want to be the one to light the fuse. But my hands bring me back to the patient work of making myself an act of love.
Music Class In Uncertain Times
This is a post that I sent to my ukulele students.
Many people consider taking a music class at some point in their lives. Studying an instrument or using your voice in new ways can be a little bit challenging, and I think people think about doing these activities when things are peaceful, and they are feeling expansive, like they have some “wiggle room” in their schedule. That makes sense.
That being said, my own music practice has grown out of my tendency to focus on music at times in my life that were difficult. For me, playing music and singing is a powerful emotional regulation tool–when life is feeling chaotic or overwhelming, musical activity helps me focus on parts of myself that I can control and nurture.
I may have spent the whole day at work having to bite my tongue or not express my difficult feelings about my working atmosphere, but then I can come home and channel all of those feelings into a musical activity that helps to lower my heart rate, regulate my breathing, and stimulate my creative mind. I can learn to play a song that I then share with my friends or family, which creates a sense of shared experience, which also helps to relieve my stress and help me feel connected to my community.
So, even though taking on the challenge of learning an instrument might seem like an extra thing to have to manage in a busy schedule, that time that we spend making music can provide a welcome balance to our regular working life.
ADHD Journey: 1 month in
So far so good. After 2 weeks on meds and a consultation with the pharmacist, I doubled the original dose, and i don’t see increasing any more going forward. My sleep patterns have stabilized and I am actually sleeping more and deeper. This is probably in part due to the fact that I am no longer napping in the afternoon, so at night I am actually tired and fall right asleep.
My step count is on point, and for the last week I have averaged 5 miles a day. I am down 15 pounds from my January weight. I do sometimes forget to eat, but I’m not actually skipping meals, and I have less of a tendency to just clean my plate on principle.
This is all great, but what about my attention? This is a little more difficult to wrap up succinctly. I have continued to experience a decrease in “background noise” that would pull me away from a task. I have also noticed a subtle but unambiguous change in my connection with my current instrument, the ukulele. I have always had a difficult time internalizing and retaining patterns–I have to practice a lot to memorize and integrate new material, and even then it doesn’t always “stick.” It seems lately that the circuits seem to be firing a bit more smoothly. Not a dramatic change by any means, but noticeable and welcome.
What medication hasn’t helped with is the sense of panic and dread I feel from situational sources: caring for and managing the affairs of a loved one with dementia; a marked downward trend in enrollment in music classes, my source of income; parenting a neurodivergent teen who, like me, learns everything the hard way and navigates a world that wasn’t necessarily designed for him; and watching the failure of our justice system and legislature to stop the dismantling of our hard-won civil liberties, environmental protections, and social safety net. All I can do is focus on the task at hand and avoid ruminating, and with that I feel more vulnerable and see fewer options each day. My instinct for self-preservation has seemedly not increased with my ability to focus.
My mind’s tendency toward world-building seems to continue unchecked as well–there is an unrelenting “impossible dream” that a big part of my consciousness is trying to realize, which saps a great deal of the energy which I feel should go into organizing my activities into a sustainable livelihood.
Well, that’s that. To be continued …