Hi there!! Mind if I ask you a question?
Who are you? And who do you consider YOUR people? I, like you, am made up of lots of parts called all sorts of things we've made up. No matter who you are, there are pieces of you that are also pieces of me; I know this to be true even if you don't believe me.
By that logic then whomever you are, I can take a leap of faith and consider YOU to be MY PEOPLE. My higher self, the me who's more conscious and more connected to my divinity, knows that WE, every single earthling, is a perfectly imperfect HUMAN BEING; we have that commonality.
Remembering this helps me out because I'm always looking to practice my compassion, open up my empathy, and drop into my heart as I engage with people, particularly those with whom I don't agree or those who feel soooo different from me. The easiest way for me to get there is by remembering my own human failures, my misgivings, my misguided yet sometimes well-intentioned actions that caused harm, and my desire to be right in the face of so much wrong. I don't always have the capacity to hold that space for someone who torments me in some way, but the more I hold space for my shadow self, the more I can extend myself to someone else who may be in similar territory.
Better still, I like to think of people as the star matter that we are; little pieces of brilliant cosmic matter - each the STAR of our own lives if we only dare to believe in our own abilities to realize our wildest dreams. Where I usually land comfortably is when I see myself as a soul or an energy beyond this body - beyond all the knowledge acquisition and academic understanding of the day - just one variation and formation of the source energy that makes up everything. I call it LOVE; others name it something else, but regardless of what we call it, this thing that's part of YOU and ME is the energy of all creation and if and when I tap it, it fosters in me a sense of unity. And I think a sense of unity is something we all need more of these days; I certainly do.
Now, don't think this is NOT hard for me; it is! After all, I'm a human being alive in 2022, in this plugged in era that we're in and I'm bearing witness to more than my brain, my body, and my HEART can process. My spirit is exhausted! Paying too much attention to everything that's awful makes it hard to remain functional; I know you know what I mean. That's why, like you, I compartmentalize and simplify this complex world by shutting lots of it out if and when I can. So, you see, there's no judgment from me if that's what you do! I get it; you're in good company. I do it too.
But, for me, it's time to learn how to manage the heartbreak and madness and rage I feel all the time because disengaging from the larger world beyond my own head isn't working all that well either. I often feel untethered and I need more grounding; more sustained belief in the goodness of humanity. And shutting out the world can keep the goodness away too; the kind of courageous goodness full of vulnerability and uncertainty and drive. I still want to strive!! I don't want to give in to the darkness; I'll work the shadows but I refuse to lose my light.
Shutting out the world is NOT what I want to do; I want to be in it as much as I can be for as long as I'm here in this form. And I don't just want to do it the way I've been doing it, I want my experience to be a million times brighter and better and more. But, right now, it feels silly to dream of unattainable things because my dreams are about helping create a world that's more LOVING and ACCEPTING of difference and variety - a world where YOU and YOURS and ME and MINE can live free. I want to live in a country that doesn't try to shame or deny me and mine because we're not like YOU and YOURS! I definitely don't like that, but I'm not here to compete; I'm just trying to get a piece of that abundance pie that's in this world for me.
I don't believe that my abundance takes away from yours, you see, but I do agree that sharing our abundance is the key to healthy living and that's the kind of world I want to see - a world of healthy living!!
That's why I ask, who are YOU? And who are YOUR PEOPLE? What makes you and them so different from me and us? I mean, beyond the basic categories of distinctions, the labels, the human identities we attach to our physical selves, I'm sure there are some similarities you can come up with that can help bring us together under the same umbrella? Did you find one? Probably so. Really; no? None at all?
I sincerely doubt that; unless you're not really trying.
I ask because I get the fact that we may be different; I do. According to many who don't agree with me, I use identity politics and create ideological divides by talking about myself and my experience freely. I won't deny your assertions; that might be your take, but I don't see it that way. Perhaps I'm just finally ready to take up a little more space, to speak my truth openly, and seek some camaraderie; perhaps that's it.
I'm just looking at this now world through the lens of how the past impacts our present. I do that because my lived experience has taught me that history matters a lot and knowing it, like knowing the implications of current events on future history, is necessary for us to move forward as a wiser society. Of course, because we're human and primed to respond in Pavlovian ways to certain queues, we easily fall prey to those with power and sway. We submit ourselves to them and let them take control of our history because it's easier to blame them if they mess up, rather than say, "wow, this mess is on us!"
Even though I can stretch myself to include ALL PEOPLE under the label of MY PEOPLE, there are some folx whom I'm more intimately involved with. In general, my reach goes further and my voice is more powerful when I'm talking to those who share some common ground with me. This is the case for me as well as you.
Now, fortunately for me, there are a lot of people who I'd easily call MY PEOPLE. Still, because of who I am, I can speak with more authority or will be more easily heard if I talk to anyone from a community I consider myself a part of and especially one that accepts me as their own.
So, for me, like for most, MY PEOPLE starts with my family and friends and expands from there. That means since I'm part of the Latinx and immigrant communities, they are my people. People of color and queer people and trans people are my people. Politically or civically engaged folx are also my people and so are those on spiritual journey; so, woke people are my people.
People who travel and love to experience and honor other places and people are my people. People who struggle with the confines of their circumstances or spaces or bodies are my people. People who are neurodivergent and gender non-conforming are my people. People who served in the armed forces and by extension people who wear uniforms and serve the people are my people. People who are of any past, current, or future movement for liberation are my people. Workers, educators, learners of all types, medical and mental health seekers and providers are my people. Bostonians, Brooklynites, New Englanders, New Yorkers, East Coasters, Americans, Peruvians; y'all are my people! I can keep going, but you get my drift.
And look, I know that just because I consider someone MY PEOPLE, they may not consider me theirs just like depending on the scenario, I might self-segregate and see a group that feels more like MY PEOPLE than another because of certain demographics or ideological expressions. That happens. It's human! I'm not here to fight that natural inclination, but I am here to reflect on it and digest it and decide for myself if and how it serves me. I'm here to practice finding ways to see more people as MY PEOPLE so that I can create more connection with others and foster more unity across lines of difference. We're not taught this, off course; so, I'm out here winging it.
Why? Because the more YOU and YOURS stay over there somewhere far away from me - the more YOU and YOURS are a separate entity - the less I feel responsible for you and "your kind," the less I see YOU and YOURS as my people, the more you become a THEM. And as much as I don't want to be responsible for anyone (that's human nature too), I feel responsible for my family and my most intimate circles; don't you? I bet you do.
Taking on more responsibility is the last thing any of us wants to do, but I think growing a sense of duty for our fellow human beings is precisely what we need to engender in more of OUR PEOPLE. How else are we supposed to co-create governments and societies that work for THE PEOPLE if we're out here fighting each other and excluding so many we consider OTHERS?
How can we hold our leaders (those with the most money and power) accountable if we don't know how to hold ourselves and each other accountable on basic things like telling the truth? We'd rather say the problem is someone else; those people over there. And, yes, there may be some truth to that, but it's not the whole truth and it's gonna take ALL OF US, ALL OUR PEOPLE, to do some soul-searching and figure out if what we're reflecting, expressing, or projecting onto the world is actually helping.
Is it helping YOUR PEOPLE, MY PEOPLE, OUR PEOPLE or is it not? Is it hurting YOU and YOURS or ME and MINE instead? I dunno; that's for each of us to discern and decide. Regardless of the side; there's a wrong that's wrong and a right that's right and our higher self knows the difference. But these days the voice inside our heads, the thing once called a conscience, seems to have been drowned out by all the hateful noise. Especially among the most scared - the many flashy, greedy, cowards holding office at this moment. They are not a good examples of healthy humans or mature adults; still, they are modeling a certain way of being and people follow because it requires far less thinking.
I get disgusted too with the fear-mongering and fomenting of anti-democratic values by our leaders across the board. No, it's not aligned with who we say we want to be, but it lines up with who we are; doesn't it? It does and we must take responsibility for our own reality; for what we've created as a collective - as A PEOPLE!
I'm not a white person nor am I cis-het. I'm not a native born American or a pure Progressive. I'm not a Right-winger either nor am I pro more cops and I'm anti guns. I'm no longer young and not exactly old; I'm not an expert in anything at all. But I'm a human being, perfectly imperfect just like you.
So, I send blessings and well-wishes to you and yours from me and mine!! Besos y abrazos, my sibs!
