Catharsis at the Oscars

Sobbing. Hyperventilating. Moonlight to me in this moment represents all of the marginalized. Their stolen moment represents all the shit that gets thrown our way. Their triumph shines a light on all of our persistence. They made something beautiful and it was seen for its magnificence. And you know what those filmmakers said? "This goes out to all those black and brown boys and girls and non-gender-conforming who don't see themselves. We're trying to show you you and us. So thank you, thank you, this is for you." Their win touches the deepest parts of me. I needed this.

Decluttering and it feels so good!

My life has felt cluttered recently. My agenda is cluttered, my tabs are cluttered, and my mind is cluttered (and exhausted!). Tonight I decided that instead of doing the tasks and going to the events that I had in my calendar, I would take the night to declutter my work email (after having decluttered my personal email over the holiday weekend). It feels like such an important step. I had started to feel stress every time I saw the number of unread emails go up. Now I feel like I'm back in the driver's seat. Next stop is my tabs. There is so much going on in this moment, and I am called in so many different directions, but I know that I am most effective when I can single-task. I am working to empower myself to do just that.

A “Day without Immigrants” open letter to my friends who immigrated to US

Thank you for sharing your gifts to help make the United States great. I am disappointed in my country these days, but I couldn’t be prouder of my friends. My life, my communities, and this world are stronger for your presence. I’m sorry that immigrants had to make their presence known and appreciated today. I’ve never taken immigrants for granted because so many of my good friends and beloved colleagues were born outside of the US. However, I have never before been quite so cognizant of how living in the country I was born into is a source of my privilege. I promise that in honor of all of the light that immigrants bring to my life, I will persist in fighting policies and actions that dehumanize immigrants or put immigrants in the margins. I stand in solidarity with immigrants today and every day. I will do everything in my power to make “liberty and justice for all” a reality.

All My Love,

LB

Beyonce and Adele at the Grammy's

Beyonce just lost both Record and Album of the year to Adele, which felt like a repeat every recent loss for what felt like "justice." However,  Adele's acknowledging Beyonce's "light" and impact feel like a different ending to that story. Adele used her platform to model allyship. That is a subtle yet powerful way of standing with the resistance. Resistance to the marginalization of voices of color. Resistance to injustice everywhere.

Inner Peace for Outer Peace

Arianna Huffington wrote yesterday that, "The goal of any true resistance is to affect outcomes, not just to vent. And the only way to affect outcomes and thrive in our lives, is to find the eye in the hurricane, and act from that place of inner strength."

I got to a point yesterday when I was overwhelmed with a feeling of insufficiency in the face of our national challenges. It was a feeling I had a lot in the weeks immediately following the election. It hurts when it feels as though your best just isn't good enough. What I have learned from the last couple months is that the remedy for me is meditation. If I can center myself, then I can let go of my ego, let go of all the swirling in my head, and simply ground myself in love. That is the eye of my storm. Even a couple minutes can work wonders. 

Don't Let My Smile Fool You

There was an article that came out today that directly referenced my smiling through a vigil about the immigration ban. I was smiling because love is my superpower. Love is what sustains me in this work, and so love, rather than anger, is what I am feeling at protests. Coincidentally, later today a friend was telling me that her husband, whom I met for the first time yesterday, was surprised by my peaceful demeanor because my friend/his wife has been describing me as a fierce activist. He was expecting someone who came across as more hardcore. I love that I can represent how activism can be done by joyful, loving folks. I don't think there's anything wrong with being angry in this moment, but if you don't channel that into something positive, the energy is wasted.