When we are in survival mode, minor distractions can be a healthy coping mechanism. However, our culture has taught us, programmed us even, to go beyond distractions and incorporate some possibly addictive behaviors into our lives: social media, shopping, eating, etc. We are sold on the idea that they will “make us feel better,” yet they also serve distract us from the social, political, and economic challenges that are occurring in society. What kind of addictions do we see in the culture, and how have they seeped into our lives? How are social addictions racialized? How do they serve to benefit consumerism and our economic structure? This month, we invite you into some deep reflection on the ways in which social addictions may manifest in our lives and what we might do about them separately, and as a community, for true healing to become a possibility.

Sadly I did not post this topic until after the meeting. Besides the main topic above, Harold Fields gave us a brief overview of his tour to Civil Rights sites with Claudia, and we noted that many membes could not be with us as they were attending services for Yom Kippur.