What will you decide about your future?

Our decisions past Martin Luther King Day, 2025

Decisions – those singular points in time when we collapse the myriad of potential futures into a single path.

Our lives are filled with decisions. Every day we make decisions that change our lives in some way, from the smallest detail of deciding whether to kiss your partner before getting out of bed, to the most momentous decisions taken by people in positions of great power. With every one of these acts, we change the future. We create the future.

Decisions are acts of creation that cement realities. Whether you like it or not, decisions are creativity

I had not planned to write a post today, but our country is at a precipice that was created by our collective decisions, and beyond that precipice we may find our country and the world fundamentally altered. We are heading into a new reality that is being cemented today on the day honoring Martin Luther King.

So what do we do now? Learn from this flag

American flag presented to American soldiers who landed on Utah Beach by members of the French Resistance. Read to the bottom of this post to learn more

I’ll be honest about my thoughts. The message that was open in my email app this morning is titled “Should You Move to a Coastal Village in Italy?” 😆🇮🇹 It is very, very hard to watch your country go in a direction that you never thought could happen, and the idea of finding a little plot of land with an olive grove is absolutely, incredibly tempting.

But here is the thing… everywhere you go will be facing change. It is not just the U.S. that is changing. It is everywhere.

I have spent many years in other countries for study, doing research and working on photographic projects. I’ve lived or spent long chunks of time in Japan, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Kenya and India. Throughout all of this, I’ve fallen in love with rainforests and mountains, and everything in between, and I have loved the people of every place I’ve been.

And yet, every single place I’ve lived has brought me back to how much I love the U.S., and I’ve made the decision to remain in the U.S. at least a dozen times.

We are a country of others. This is our strength.

As I write this, our government is freely transferring power to people who do not believe this. But these people are only one part of a country that is just as diverse as it has ever been, and our strength lies in that diversity.

We make decisions every day, and every decision we make creates the future in some small way.

Martin Luther King recognized the power of this, and against all odds he used it to secure a better future.

Every decision you make will have an impact, because you are one of many.

Hold onto your beliefs. You are not alone in them.

Help people where you can, because that is the foundation of community.

Over and over I’ve returned to the U.S. after living abroad. I may yet live abroad again, but I will never give up on the dreams that Martin Luther King had for our country.

The flag pictured above is one that was given to American soldiers who landed on Utah Beach by members of the French Resistance. It’s from a post by a man named Steve Schmidt, who has been writing about the dangers of a Trump administration for years. He is a Republican.

I’m going to end this with a quote from Steve Schmidt’s post this morning. It’s the best thing I’ve read about today’s events so far. You should read the entire post. It’s so powerful and to the moment, and it conveys so much of what I am feeling now.

From The American Flag, by Steve Schmidt

My friends, buck up.

Straighten up.

Stiffen up.

After all, you are an American.

We are tough, not soft, people.

There is a fight coming.

Let me make a final point to those who lament that they have no more to give, and can barely manage the strength to turn on the news, or open a news link.

Stop it.

Nothing is ever over in America, which means that the fight many have decided is over has in fact not yet begun.

Donald Trump has stormed the castle and raised his flag.

Now, he must defend it.

I look forward to the moment that will come after the disaster.

Like always, the spring follows winter.

The American flag has been abused before.

She has always prevailed.

I have no doubt whatsoever that our nation’s greatest days are ahead.

First, we have some trouble to make.

What type?

Good trouble.