On Becoming with Michelle

"It's a process, steps along a path.
Becoming requires equal parts patience and rigor.
Becoming is never giving up on the idea
that there's more growing
to be done."
- Michelle Obama from Becoming

Me and Michelle

I've always admired Michelle Obama. It's hard not to. She's honest, intelligent and radiant. She promoted organic gardening and healthy food at the White House and inspired us to get our hands dirty, literally, in the garden (check out American Grown: The Story of the White House Kitchen Garden and Gardens Across America). She's my kind of woman.

Like the keys on her piano growing up, mine are chipped too.

Naturally, I bought her latest book, Becoming, the day it came out and, because I had a bad cold, was able to sit on the couch, drink tea and read it from cover to cover. I love that the keys on my piano are chipped, like the one she learned to play on, and that I would probably feel comfortable inviting her to my house for conversation by the fire. She's that real. 

Michelle Obama, Becoming, and puzzle strategies

Earlier today, while I was working on my annual 'between-holiday' puzzle, I wondered if Michelle ever does puzzles. And if she does, what is her approach? Does she do the edges first, like me? Does she sort by shape or color? Is she methodical or random? It doesn't really matter, but Becoming was an invitation to consider our commonalities. As she writes at the end of the Epilogue, "Let's invite one another in. Maybe we can begin to fear less, to make fewer assumptions, to let go of the biases and stereotypes that unnecessarily divide us. Maybe we can better embrace the ways we are the same."

Thanksgiving compost

Snow and 4 degrees, before Thanksgiving?

It was this spirit that inspired my exploration of compost. To me, it was so much more than necessary nutrients for the garden. It became a metaphor for what it means to be an American. Without diversity of the green and brown stuff (nitrogen and carbon), patience and periodic attention, my compost pile would be an unproductive mess. Since diversity is our strength, why, then, do people fear it? 

The News, Compost, and The All of It

A few days ago, I tore up some recent newspapers (The Valley News, our local paper) to offset all the vegetable scraps from Umpleby's Cafe and looked closely at what I saw in the compost pile. The stories covered everything from immigration conflicts along our border with Texas and deadly runaway fires in California to the dangers of E-Cigarettes and a recent shooting. Among these dramatic issues, each of which deserves our attention, there was an invitation to buy skis and yet another Snoopy carton. There are big problems in the world, but we can't solve them ourselves. We have to move beyond fear and ski if we love to and laugh at Snoopy, because it just feels good. These are ways we get out of ourselves.

Voting in Hanover, NH November 2018

"We all play a role in this democracy.
We need to remember the power of every vote.
I continue, too, to keep myself connected to a force
that's larger and more potent than any one election, or
leader, or news story - and that's optimism.
For me, this is a form of faith,
​an antidote to fear."
- Michelle Obama from Becoming

Thank you, Michelle Obama, for your optimism.

Thank you, Michelle, for your invitation, your inspiration, and your optimism. You give me confidence to build this blog, By Degrees, and to share practical ways we can become the people we are meant to be in a society that celebrates all of us. 

Sharing Harvard

Our one true connection is Harvard. You went to law school and I earned my undergraduate degree in Fine Arts there. I wonder what you would think of my degree collage. For each of us, that experience in Cambridge, MA contributed to our capacity to share our stories with others and to have the confidence to put ourselves out there. I'm sorry that I won't be able to hear you speak in person, but I love your Instagram posts. With gratitude, Lyn

---

"It's not about being perfect.
It's not about where you get yourself in the end.
There's power in allowing yourself to be known and heard,
in owning your unique story, in using your authentic
voice. And there's grace in being willing to
​know and hear others. This, for me,
is how we become." 
- Michelle Obama from Becoming