In many ways, I’ve never felt more fired up about issues of diversity and inclusion than I do now. I believe in the power of active resistance. But, in other ways I’m completely overwhelmed and burnt out by the new administration. And we’re only a couple of days in.

I’m shocked that Sean Spicer stood in front of our country and boldly lied about a trivial issue. Who cares how many people were at the inauguration? But, this is a symptom of something bigger. My grandmother always told me that someone who will lie to you about something small can’t be trusted to tell you the truth about something important. I’m more shocked and appalled that the media outlets didn’t immediately and forcefully denounce what he had done. We trust the media to not just report facts, but to tell us the truth. A headline that says “Spicer reports inaugural crowds were record-breaking” is factually correct, but also misleading and not truthful. “Sean Spicer lies to reporters” would have been factual and truthful. It scares me that not only is the White House not to be trusted, but the media may also not be trustworthy. We may all need to renew our subscriptions to Teen Vogue.

Trump has opted to retain his own security force, in addition (as as a replacement for?) his secret service detail. My dear husband Strange reminds me that the SS in Nazi Germany began as a private security detail that provided security at party meetings.Is that where we’re going?

My continuous focus on this isn’t good for my mental health and I am trying to take lessons from my mixed faith household in how to deal with this. Strange is a member of the tribe and I was raised Catholic. Still, I think my own spiritual beliefs have begun to align with his Spinoza-ist views of a higher power.We try to celebrate the positive aspects of both of our faiths in our home. One of my favorite practices has become the observance of Shabbat. I like being together on Friday nights. Breaking bread, lighting candles, and giving thanks for the gift of wine is spiritually nourishing for me. I’ve gotten into learning more about Shabbat, where the greeting “Shabbat Shalom” translates to “peaceful sabbath.”

It’s made me more motivated to make it a priority to guard peace for a defined part of the week. Those that are more observant of Shabbat eschew work and potentially even electronic devices. This week I decided to try to incorporate that into my life, in an effort to gain some peace from the hurricane we’re all in. Friday to Saturday will become an electronic-free time, and a break from news and social media, where we focus on self and family. I’m looking forward to this time as a period of personal growth.  Strange and I enjoyed an electronic/social media free day this past weekend and it was wonderful. We forbade the use of the words “Trump” and “Obamacare”. Instead we spent time together, went to Costco, went running, made a lovely dinner and sat in the sauna.  It was nice to refill my energy stores.

And then when we’re recharged, we can return to the fight.

Shabbat Shalom, social media.