Issue #129 | July 31, 2026 | Previous issues​

Hey Reader,

Tomorrow is August 1st!!!

Where has summer gone?

If I had the power right now, I'd extend summer in New York for a few more months. My bones are getting cold, and it's not even September.

If you had the power, what would you change right now? Today?

Maybe your mind thinks bigger than the weather lol.

Age. War. Immigration mayhem. Despair. Despondency. Cancer.

Poverty. Crime. Violence. Inflation. Drugs. Injustice. Pollution.

Take your pick.

There are probably a ton of things you'd change for the better.

And yet, we can't.

Feeling powerless?

Sometimes, that's exactly how I feel.

And I hate that feeling.

What does it even mean?

It's not merely a lack of control, it's the inability to help yourself or others.

Control is who is holding the gun. Powerlessness is not being able to stop the bullet.

Life can be divided into what you can control and what you cannot.

You can control—or at least influence—your actions, your choices, your responses, and what you do next.

You cannot control others. Or the weather. Sometimes, you cannot even control your circumstances.

Being powerless takes it to another level. It takes choice away.

It often looks like submitting to an injustice, whether you like it or not, because you have no other choice.

How many areas of your life make you feel completely powerless?

Is there a way to create more power in your life?

Power is a tool. So is a hammer.

A hammer can build. A hammer can destroy.

Power is similar. In the right hands, it can build and protect. In the wrong hands, it defeats and destroys.

Where do you have power in your life?

Over whom?

How do you use your power?

What is the antidote to powerlessness?

Sometimes, it's a system. Think smoke detectors, carbon monoxide alarms, antitheft devices, seat belts, and life jackets.

Sometimes, knowledge protects us. Knowing not to walk down a certain street or what your legal rights are. Or knowing what is poisonous.

Sometimes, it's advanced preparation. Traveling in groups versus solo. Storing supplies before the storm. Carrying Band-Aids in your purse.

All of these things give us a little more power.

Reality, however, says no matter what systems you create, what knowledge you gain, or what preparations you make, there are no guarantees in life.

Sometimes, after doing everything you reasonably can, the only thing left is faith.

Faith in someone bigger and stronger than us.

Someone who sees what we cannot see, can do what we cannot do, and cares enough to want what is ultimately good for us.

You are only able to do the best you can with the information you have at that moment.

Then let the rest go.

Let faith carry the rest.

With love,

Anna

P.S. What would you change if you had the power? Hit reply and tell me.

​aferalhousewife.com​