When have I surprised myself?

Today my reflection question at the beginning of Genocide Studies class was "When have you surprised yourself?" Yesterday I surprised myself with my thoughtlessness. I left my ID and ticket at airport security and remembered them in a moment of panic after buying lunch by my gate. In that panic I thought I had also left my roller bag, which of course I had had all along! On my flight home, I was feeling really down on myself, and I made myself do the thought exercise I make students do when they meanly tease each other -- five nice things to the person to whom one has given a hard time. This is rooted in brain science I heard a few years ago about how it takes five positive things for one to recover for each negative experience they encounter. In honor of my feeling disappointed in myself, I came up with five things about which I am proud of myself. Here is what I came up with:

• I answer the call I feel to the margins
• I am committed to justice
• I love actively and unconditionally
• I live a spiritually grounded life
• I cultivate joy

What is getting me through spiritually this month

For some reason I'm feeling overwhelmed and less spiritually grounded this month, but I've used these resources to help reconnect to the light within me.

The song "Power, Justice, and Love" by Morley: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lY7_FlIegoY

The TED Talk "3 Lessons of Revolutionary Love in a Time of Rage" by Valerie Kaur: https://www.ted.com/talks/valarie_kaur_3_lessons_of_revolutionary_love_in_a_time_of_rage

Life Lesson

Only in the last year or so have I been confident enough to ask to speak to a manager when I've been dissatisfied with the answer to a concern I have. So far, each time I've done so I have been told that I can speak to a manager, but they won't tell me anything different. Each time, though, a manager has found a solution for me. It's been an important lesson in standing in my power. Sometimes we're so afraid of being aggressive that we fail to be assertive. We deserve to speak our needs into existence.

Sometimes it's the little things

Today the highlight of my day was working with colleagues who did a massive clean-up effort without any prompting. We just saw a job that needed to be done and did it. We did it cooperatively and joyfully! It was a beautiful reminder at the beginning of the day of living in the moment. And what a sense of accomplishment at the end!

We Persist!

Today I had a snow day, and I used to for my activism. I went to both a rally and a demonstration for the Dream Act. The demonstration was outside in the cold rain. Thankfully just before it I changed into hardcore rain boots. Nancy Pelosi, on the other hand, spoke on behalf of the Dreamers for over eight hours today in four-inch heels! https://www.washingtonpost.com/powerpost/pelosi-launches-hours-long-filibuster-style-speech-in-bid-to-force-immigration-votes-in-the-house/2018/02/07/b98a25f4-0c33-11e8-8b0d-891602206fb7_story.html

When an Uber ride gets deeper

Tonight my Uber driver asked me what I was looking forward to in 2018. My answer was the Dream Act. I'm fire up and ready to go!

My favorite image of today

I went to a program on immigration today and there were two lines, one from the beginning and one from the end, that seemed as though they could be in dialogue with each other and spoke to me. One was that we meet each other [across difference] as we do good work and the other was that we can form a network of hope. I love the idea that our good works form a network, or even a just a net, holding each other up, ensuring that no one falls through the cracks. Father Greg Boyle would love this idea!

Habit Recommitment

2/4/18 original post: I realize that Black History month offers an opportunity for me to practice being my best self. One element of that for me is writing. I feel most fully myself when I am putting some of my love into the world each day in written form. I also feel my best when I work out. Running especially gives me a sense of accomplishment and energy, and yogi helps me feel grounded in mind, body, and spirit. I used to have both activities as habits and I plan to use this month to reconnect with them.

3/23/18 update: I have a new morning routine that is working for me. When I first wake up, I doing spiritual reading before anything else. That way, as I check email and social media and email, I am not just doing those to wake up. I am then making my coffee and my bed and then eating breakfast while I read the news and then finishing my coffee as I blog. I then go into my journaling and meditation that I have always been pretty good at keeping up. I am also being more consistent about my evening routine of reading and journaling. These routines are helping me to feel grounded in my best life.

Black History Month Reading

I both love to learn about and am ever empowered by the study of Black History. This Black History Month, I would love to finish the following works:

• "Martin Luther King and the Montgomery Story" (original comic from Fellowship of Reconciliation published during Civil Rights Movement)
• This was a great reminder of the powerful love, faith and non-violence at the core of the Civil Rights Movement.
• The Shadows of Youth: The Remarkable Journey of the Civil Rights Generation by Andrew B. Lewis (2009)
• A More Beautiful and Terrible History: The Uses and Misuses of Civil Rights History by Jeanne Theoharis (2018)
• This book was not a quick read, but I learned a ton!
• We Were Eight Years in Power: An American Tragedy by Ta-Nehisi Coates (2017)

I'm putting it in writing so that I hold myself accountable!