Hey all. I am sliding into your DM’s—or emails— today to share a few things that are bringing me hope in a time where hope feels like sand slipping away as the tide of hate and oppression keeps rising.
I was able to facilitate a space today in a meetup of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Practitioners. We meet monthly to have a communal place where we can truly support each other while the cultural attacks on equity, belonging, inclusion, diversity and justice are ramping up on the daily.
Step one: Show up. Even when it’s tough. Even when it’s inconvenient. Even when we aren’t sure. Even when we feel alone. Most likely you are not alone, you just aren’t telling anyone that you need help. How can people show up for you if you don’t ask for support when you need it?
Our Facilitator of the meeting today said something I wrote down. She said: “Begin with Bravery.” It’s time to push the boundary of comfort and “staying safe” towards a new horizon. This is about moving the goal post, not fixing everything in one move. We have to have community to connect when times are tough and we feel disconnected. There is so much to divide us. Culture wars, busy schedules, demands on our time, financial constraints. It’s so easy to let that be the end of the sentence. But every small act of resistance adds up to change over time. We got here by allowing oppression and by those in power abusing their power to take more than their share. We got here over a hundred years of added up circumstances and power grabs. We must be patient and we must be relentless in our pursuit of equity for all and Collective Liberation.
Hierarchies only benefit those at the top. We need to start looking at the world as a circle not a ladder.
I have, perhaps, too many more thoughts to share. So I am going to share the words that have helped me from other authors, poets and leaders.
WE MUST cut the world in two and see what’s eating at the rind. It’s time to dig out the disease and fill our world with healthy soil where ALL can flourish, with our differing needs, experiences and stories.
Hold on! Despite the odds. The truth is that none of us make it out of here alive. We must learn what it takes to live and hold on to hope.
A better world is worth fighting for. And let me say this: The more privilege you have, the more it is your responsibility to stand up for oppression. Don’t let the narrative be true that those who benefit the most from being the Default are the ones who are last to the Liberation Party. If you are white, it’s time to stand up against White Supremacy. Loudly if you can. Quietly if you must. But it’s the action itself that will create a new world. The small daily acts of showing up and moving the goal post on your own discomfort will stitch the new quilt of equity that will give ALL OF US more freedom.
It can be baffling to know how to show up. Figure out what YOU can do. There is no right or wrong answer. You will be imperfect. You will mess up and make mistakes. You need to be okay with that.
WE ALL will be able to collectively sing the song of Love and Belonging together. Even if there are lots of barriers impeding our progress, we can shift the lens and look at it as an opportunity to make some noise toward a greater good.
I believe in you. Let’s keep showing up for each other. I know a better world is possible because there are small versions of the kind of world that we all want to be a part of in our communities. Seek out people where you feel safe and where you feel challenged to show up and do better for yourself and others.
Sending love to you,
Stef