Upon reflecting on the reason she unwittingly stopped reading fiction, a friend of mine concluded that life is currently more frightening than fiction. Hearing her say that made me think of two things. First, I totally get what she means, and second, I am grateful to be working alongside her in this effort to create lasting political change because the magnitude of this job requires an organized concerted effort.
Like my friend, many people are woke and working on socio-political change. We organize into groups and hopefully those groups form touch points with other groups thus creating an ever growing grassroots network thriving on the desire for progressive change. One of the challenges we face as we build group energy and inner workings, is figuring out how to work with the intention of breaking down social barriers. How can we build bridges and not walls?
This month, as we examine immigration, let’s examine our own hearts, lives, and group dynamics. Where do we place barriers? What are our unspoken or spoken rules for social construction? Who draws those lines and how is that decision made? And most importantly, how can we unite and grow into a larger collective that supports our innate desire for connection? Creating silos may temporarily satisfy individualistic appetites but in the long run, when we are divided, we are subsequently conquered. Our current socio-political atmosphere calls for something more.
Let’s work together building bridges, not walls.
In solidarity,
Flora