Jennifer Zobair

Of The Empire We will be known as a culture that feared death and adored power, that tried to vanquish insecurity for the few and cared little for the penury of the many. We will be known as a culture that taught and rewarded the amassing of things, that spoke little if at all about the quality of life for people (other people), for dogs, for rivers. All the world, in our eyes, they will say, was a commodity. And they will say that this structure was held together politically, which it was, and they will say also that our politics was no more than an apparatus to accommodate the feelings of the heart, and that the heart, in those days, was small, and hard, and full of meanness.

We will be known as a culture that taught
and rewarded the amassing of things, that spoke little if at all about the quality of life for people (other people), for dogs, for rivers.
- Mary Oliver, “Of the Empire”

#poetry #writingcommunity #booksky #resist

How the World Is Reeling From Trump’s Aid Freeze

In famine-stricken Sudan, soup kitchens that feed hundreds of thousands have shut down. In Thailand, refugees with life-threatening diseases have been turned away by hospitals. In Ukraine, residents on the frontlines may go without firewood in mid-winter. www.nytimes.com/2025/01/31/w...

The back of a hotel laundry form where a member of the housekeeping team wrote “thank you for the tips.”

When things feel grim, adopt this mindset: "As one person I cannot change the world, but I can change the world of one person." (Paul Shane Spear)

Example: If you stay at a hotel, tip the housekeeping staff generously. Excessively, even.

#kindness #gratitude #payitforward #travel

“People Will Die”: The Trump Administration Said It Lifted Its Ban on Lifesaving Humanitarian Aid. That’s Not True. Organizations that provide vital care for desperate and vulnerable people around the world have been forced to halt operations, turn away patients and lay off staff. “I’ve never seen anything that sca...

“On Friday morning, the staffers at a half dozen U.S.-funded medical facilities in Sudan who care for severely malnourished children had a choice to make: Defy President Donald Trump’s order to immediately stop their operations or let up to 100 babies and toddlers die.

They chose the children.”

Thank you! The aura bothers me more than anything. Hope you have a good day!

Good morning!

Good morning! Love that cover. And the name of the book club! 💕

The word joy written in snow

Sometimes, you have to commit to creating joy (even if it’s with a spatula on the back patio).

Good morning, #5amwritersclub! Time to get to one of the things that brings me the most joy.

#writingcommunity #amwriting #author

A copy of Alice Walker’s THE TEMPLE OF MY FAMILIAR

“Helped are those who learn that the deliberate invocation of suffering is as much a boomerang as the deliberate invocation of joy." - The Gospel According to Shug

Grateful Bluesky is populated w/people who understand this quote.

#5amwritersclub #writingcommunity #booksky #writesky #author

The young woman at a table in a restaurant jokingly covering her face.

An abstract portrait at the Sophy Hotel in Hyde Park.

When you snatch your daughter from her law school for a late lunch at Mesler at the gorgeous, art-filled Sophy Hotel, and pull out your phone to take her picture. 🙋‍♀️

#momlife #family #love #Monday #art #Chicago #HydePark #UChicagoLaw

A sign that says, “Allow yourself a peaceful place to work.”

This could be a quiet room before anyone else is awake, soft music, etc, but also: mental space free from dark thoughts after doom scrolling, worry about others’ approval/not being good enough, fear of being fully seen, all evil eye energy.

#5amwritersclub #writingcommunity #wellness

A gray Philadelphia Sixers shirt with number “14” and “Council IV” printed on the back.

Up at the half! I started watching the 76ers because of Jared McCain, and now I’m in so deep on this injured, struggling team I have a Ricky Council IV shirt.

#Sixers #Bulls #NBA

Last time the Sixers were at the United Center, I was in the 5th row cheering loudly in a sea of Bulls fans as they got the win. (Yes, they had McCain and Embiid, but I still believe. Especially after last night!) Let’s go!! 🏀

#NBA

Love this!

A heron walking by a pool in the Caribbean island of Turks and Caicos.

Week 1 is all shock and awe, to create despair and apathy. Coping by staying informed daily but *not* 24/7, donating $/taking action, writing, finding joy, balancing news w/timeline cleanses. So here's my 4th best friend in Turks and Caicos.

#writingcommunity #birds #nature #love #wellness #resist

So good!

A good omen is needed! Good morning!

Gabby Rivera's book, JULIET TAKES A BREATH. The cover is the back of a young woman's head with a yellow background. Across the top is a blurb from Roxane Gay that says, "F---ing outstanding."

“Also, write the thing you're scared to write. The world is on fucking fire. Might as well go out in a blaze of wild bravery where you write the shit out of that thing and own your magic.”
- Gabby Rivera

#writingcommunity #booksky #5amwritersclub #amwriting #fiction #writingtips

A coyote standing and staring near the yard’s tree line.

The coyote came back to our yard. We stared: am I going to hurt you, are you going to hurt me, etc etc etc.

But really: Are you ok? Are you warm, fed, safe? Do you have a community? Can I help? You’re so beautiful, keep going.

#nature #wildlife #amwriting #writingcommunity #Wednesday #resist

Indeed. Good morning!

Beautiful. An important reminder. Thank you for sharing.

A photo from the museum with a quote from bell hooks that says “people resist by telling their stories.”

A reminder, on Martin Luther King Jr Day, on this particular day, from the National Museum of African American History and Culture in DC.

#5amwritersclub #writingcommunity #MLK #bellhooks #poetry

Yay for writing wins! 🎉

A photo of a roti cooking on the stovetop, and one rolled out on a glass cutting board.

It was not a #5amwritersclub kind of morning for me—more of a homemade oat/flax roti kind of a morning. Happy Friday!

#writingcommunity #balance #cooking #vegetarian #amwriting (now)

I love his work. 💕

Good morning! Love the openness to shifting gears!

Two champagne flutes on a table. In the distance, the sun is setting over the ocean in Turks and Caicos.

It "feels like" 7 degrees in Chicago and the sun has not yet risen, but it's still a beautiful morning to write characters who love like a Mahmoud Darwish poem: "All roads lead to you, even those I took to forget you."

#5amwritersclub #amwriting #author #writingcommunity #poetry #love

Good morning!

Black Families Displaced By California Wildfires Launch Online Fundraisers To Help Start Over Black families in Altadena displaced by the Los Angeles wildfires are in desperate need of help and have launched GoFundMe accounts.

Wealthy celebs aren't the only residents being displaced by the fires in the Los Angeles area.

Black Families Displaced By California Wildfires Launch Online Fundraisers To Help Start Over

#EatonFire

newsone.com/5844408/help...

Thank you! Good morning!