New Beginnings & Necessary Endings

Hope Infusion Newsletter - January 5, 2025 Edition

Opening Note

Sometimes the most profound beginnings emerge from endings we never wanted. As we step into 2025, many of us carry the weight of recent events while simultaneously seeking paths forward. This month, we'll explore the complex territory of new beginnings and necessary endings - those moments when we must release what no longer serves us to make room for what might.

A Brief Note Before We Begin

While this newsletter isn't about politics – and never will be – I would be remiss to resume writing after a two-year absence without acknowledging the seismic shift occurring in our nation. My passion lies in poetry, rhyme, and storytelling, but these arts don't exist in a vacuum. They're shaped by the world around us, and right now, that world is experiencing profound change.

November 5th, 2024, left an indelible mark on many Americans, myself included. Rather than pretend otherwise, I want to share how I processed this moment – not as political commentary, but as a human experience that shaped my perspective during my time away from this newsletter.

What follows is a piece I wrote in November, capturing raw emotions that many of us are still processing. After this, I’ll return to my primary focus on storytelling and creative exploration.

If my perspective on these events makes you uncomfortable, we may not be the right fit – and that's okay. Authenticity in this season of life matters far more to me far more than universal appeal.

This Week's Reflection: Instantaneous Overness

Twenty years ago, I witnessed a friend experience what I now call "instantaneous overness" – that precise moment when accumulated lies crystallize into sudden, irrevocable clarity.

Her story haunts me still: discovering her husband's ongoing affair during their marriage counseling was the tip of the iceberg. Their entire ten-year marriage, she later learned, was built on a foundation of deception. The truth emerged during a confrontation with her stepdaughter – during which she received the shocking news that he hadn't been separated and enroute to divorce when they met; their relationship had actually prompted the separation!

I still hear her voice in the ear of my mind, calm, measured, matter of fact in explaining her sudden disappearance – why she'd resigned from her job, retreated to her mother's home four hours away, and went completely off the grid of her former life. "For ten years, I have lived a lie," she said. "My whole marriage was predicated on a lie."

Though the revelation devastated her she described feeling an unexpected liberation. "It's as if a two-ton boulder has been lifted from my shoulders."

In the aftermath of the 2024 election, her story resurfaced in my mind with striking parallels. Like her, I've experienced my own moment of "instantaneous overness" – only mine is with America.

For five decades, I believed in the promise of "one nation under God, with liberty and justice for all." I convinced myself that these words, though unfulfilled, represented a genuine aspiration – that America was on a slow but steady march toward realizing these ideals for all its people, including Black Americans like myself.

But just as my friend's husband showed his true nature in marriage counseling, a segment of America, l has dropped all pretense. They've abandoned even the performative gestures toward equality, brazenly embracing the white supremacy upon which this nation was founded.

The gaslighting has ended. The lie stands exposed: these founding ideals were never meant for people who look like me. They were written by and for white landed gentry, and a significant portion of America wants to keep it that way.

And yet, like my friend who found unexpected freedom in her devastating revelation, I feel an odd sense of liberation. After 58 years of wishing, hoping, and enduring relentless gaslighting, I am OVER my relationship with this narcissistic abuser called the United States of America.

Sometimes you have to release a load to fully appreciate how heavy it was.

This is my "instantaneous overness." And it is incredibly freeing!

A Personal Note

While this piece deals with political realities, its core message transcends partisan boundaries - it's about that moment of clarity when we finally accept a truth we've long denied, and the unexpected liberation that follows.

Whether it's a relationship, a belief system, or an institution, sometimes our greatest growth comes from acknowledging when something is irrevocably over.

Looking Forward

In the coming weeks, we'll continue exploring different facets of new beginnings and necessary endings. I’m thrilled to have you along for the ride on this new digital adventure!