Somewhere en route from DC to SFO. Wi-Fi out. This one has been simmering for a bit.
This is not about you.
And yet it is.
I use this framing often when facilitating or speaking in the variety of places and spaces I might find myself. There is something about the American mythology of individualism (and independence I might add) deeply rooted in a Protestant ethic that quickly turns almost any conversation about any topic into “what about me?” This seems particularly true when talking about anything related to equity, justice and liberation.
So here is the thing – knowing and understanding who you are and the power you have (be it earned or bestowed based on the interwoven systems of patriarchy, racism, capitalism, ableism) is important.
But perhaps more important is how you use that power and the ways it both reflects and is in service of something more than you feeling better about yourself.
Try it.