There I was, waxing indignant1 about the transgender holidays and the emotional kindergarten of transphobia and meanwhile there is a whole calendar of Trans holidays that artist Rena Yehuda Newman created. There are hundreds of occasions to consider, right there in print. I came across this calendar in time for 2026 and felt immediately endeared to it. Hits include: Trans Day of Eternal Questions, Trans Day of Juice, Trans Day of Getting Your Shit Together, Trans Day of Frivolous Activity, Trans Day of Falling Apart, Trans Day of Long Walks, Trans Day of Mechanical Knowledge, Trans Day of Letting Things Go and Trans Day of Striking Out.
From within the cloud of indignation a couple of weeks ago I saw that today is Trans Day of Leaving the Narrow Place, which really struck me. Happy Trans Day of Leaving the Narrow Place! Let’s celebrate.2 I celebrate the choices we make over and over again to imagine beyond, to bust out, to include more. I celebrate all the times we notice that the so-called villains are very often caricatures that distract from ignored wounds.
Out over here, beyond the fence, is wider. Sprawl out. Wider than visibility is recognition, and wider than recognition is acceptance. I’m beginning to think that the wide open arms we long for most of all do not belong to any institution or government or zeitgeist but are attached to our very own shoulders.
I celebrate that there is enough room. There are huge open fields. We scoot around this abyss, we egg each other on. We’ve left the narrow for the open, the oceanic, the growing, the growing all the way up.
“Do not weep; do not wax indignant. Understand.” - Baruch Spinoza, The Artist’s Way ↩
celebrate is to “sing praises of, practice often” and “commemorate or honor with demonstrations of joy.”