Experiment with Light

Every time I do the guided meditation Experiment with Light, I am grateful for the journey inward. The prompts ask just the right questions and leave just enough time for me to go beyond whatever has been on my mind that week. It has led me to make some real changes in my life (like how I run groups and how much sleep I get) because it is more than my passing thoughts. It is an examination of what is in my spirit.

Today I considered how I can do intentional evening planning for the day ahead to ensure that I have time to meaningfully read and write and make progress toward my short and long term goals as well as begin and end each day by making room for nurturing my Light. This will allow me to effectively prioritize and center my light instead of my ego or the distractions that inevitably arise.

Be the heroes

Mr. Rogers said, ""When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, 'Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping."  I'd like to push that one step further to encourage each of us to consider how we can be that helper, be the one to represent hope. Courage is contagious, and it's up to each of us to be the spark. And if at first we don't succeed, we just have to keep pushing ourselves. Maya Angelou wrote, "When you know better, do better." Mistakes don't let us off the hook. They are all the more reason to lean in, to learn from our failures, and to come out the other side stronger. That is how we honor the light within ourselves and each other.

Leaning In

As a pacifist and progressive, I find much of American politics problematic. I used to do a lot of complaining about how I just wasn't proud to be an American. More recently, I have chosen instead to dive into the muck and engage wholeheartedly in the process. That being said, in a brilliant, powerful, inspirational convention speech by a man I am deeply proud to call my President, my favorite quote was this: 

"[Hillary Clinton] knows she’s made mistakes, just like I have; just like we all do. That’s what happens when we try. That’s what happens when you’re the kind of citizen Teddy Roosevelt once described – not the timid souls who criticize from the sidelines, but someone 'who is actually in the arena…who strives valiantly; who errs…[but] who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement.' Hillary Clinton is that woman in the arena. She’s been there for us – even if we haven’t always noticed. And if you’re serious about our democracy, you can’t afford to stay home just because she might not align with you on every issue. You’ve got to get in the arena with her, because democracy isn’t a spectator sport."

We can all relate. None of us is perfect. Yes, politicians should be held to a high standard, but they are also still human. We just need to keep holding the mirror back up to them, not letting them off the hook. When we see greatness, perfection should not be our standard. Goodness may be the enemy of greatness, but so is perfection. Let's just keep moving forward, acknowledging that mistakes will be made along the way, and promising to learn from them.

We're with Her

DNC 2016

"We are not called on to be a nation of tolerance. We are called on to be a nation of love." - Cory Booker
"When we are indivisible, we are invincible" - Cory Booker
"[O]ur motto is, when they go low, we go high." - Michelle Obama
"And as my daughters prepare to set out into the world, I want a leader who is worthy of that truth, a leader who is worthy of my girls’ promise and all our kids’ promise, a leader who will be guided every day by the love and hope and impossibly big dreams that we all have for our children." - Michelle Obama

Between tonight's speeches and the filibuster and sit-in earlier this summer, I've never been prouder to be a Democrat.

And now, as Michelle Obama says, "We need to knock on every door, we need to get out every vote, we need to pour every last ounce of our passion and our strength and our love for this country into electing Hillary Clinton as president of the United States of America! So let’s get to work." <3

I'm inspired to put in the work to get out the vote. It is the only way.

Making Lemonade

I know I'm behind the times, but I just watched Beyonce's Lemonade film for the first time and I found it incredibly moving. My understanding was that the album and video were about infidelity. Watching the film, I think the meaning is much deeper. Beyonce said earlier this year to Elle, "I hope I can create art that helps people heal. Art that makes people feel proud of their struggle." I now believe that the whole piece is more broadly about struggle. The women of color that she features in the film are those who have engaged in their own beautiful and powerful struggles. They are women that society has tried to silence, and they are having none of it. There is also an underlying current throughout the film about the marginalization of black women in general, juxtaposed to Beyonce's repetition of the fact that she "slays" and a focus on her strength. This piece struck me in a way similar to Hamilton. It is extremely meaningful to have one of the most powerful (black) women in the world owning her identity in a manner that is radical and revolutionary. Her music is an extension of political stands she has made both last year and this year. She makes me proud of her, myself, and our people. 

The Plan

How a love revolution could change the world:

Social media during hard times

The world is beautiful and tragic and so are the tools of social media. Being behind a screen can make us cowards or can help strengthen us to speak truth to power - we must lean into the discomfort of difficult conversations. When we don't have the challenging conversations, it's hard for progress to be made. Sometimes that means sparking conversation and sometimes it means responding to something, but either way, we should empower ourselves and each other to be respectful, authentic, and brave with our social media presence.

Indifference Is Dangerous

Query: how do we best visibly and vocally stand in solidarity with victims of violence around the world?

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/06/world/europe/muslims-baghdad-dhaka-istanbul-terror.html

Some days I'm proud to be an American

Barack Obama made me feel genuinely proud to be an American for the first time in my life. Hillary makes me feel the same. While I don't support either of them BECAUSE of their identities, our overlapping core identifiers do help me to  feel empowered and like I have a place at the American table. Our next step as a nation is an intellectual investment in intersectionality. We currently hear much more about it in our media than in our politics. We bring our identities into all we do, we may as well acknowledge them!