Spring 2024
Strength in struggle
Some days I feel like I’m taking one step forward and two steps back. Whenever I feel a narrowing of possibility for social change, I seek out stories of female strength to power me through the dark moments. The story of Luz Yolanda Coca, a tireless fair-housing Bushwick advocate, provides much needed hope and inspiration.
Fall 2023
All our hearts beat
It’s hard to put into words what is going on in the world right now. We have a long road ahead of us as we grapple with the pain and anger of witnessing the terrifying acts of this past week. We can find some solace in reminding ourselves that collaborative work rooted in community - actively supporting and listening to each other - can provide us with spaces for coexistence and friendship. I have been awestruck recently by colleagues and friends from a variety of backgrounds who have been directly impacted by this conflict continually demonstrate to me through their words and actions what true camaraderie and mutual respect can look like, even during these devastating times. Coming together and acknowledging our common humanity is the only way forward.
Summer 2023
Embrace the unknown
And think not you can direct the course of love, for love, if it finds you worthy, directs your course.
-Kahlil Gibran
Not everything in life works out as planned.
It can be challenging to know which course to take when you don’t know what life may throw at you tomorrow or years from now. When courage is needed in this constantly changing world, I seek it in stories. Sometimes I find them in stories of activism and other times I find them in my parents’ love story.
Spring 2023
Kindness matters
Kindness is the language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see.
-Mark Twain
During my recent travels, I encountered several random acts of kindness, from younger folks taking care to walk alongside their elders to keep them steady, to strangers giving clothes and food to someone sitting on a street corner who’s seen better days. According to a recent study, around the world people help each other about every 2 minutes. These small acts of kindness are frequent and universal, transcending cultural differences. Relating to another’s struggles begins with kindness. All it takes is checking in on a friend or neighbor, providing encouragement to someone you see is struggling, or just listening. Kindness may be perceived as small, but therein lies its power. Its impact is astounding in its simplicity. Kindness goes beyond words. So the next time you feel compassionate, lean into it. This vulnerability is our greatest strength.
Winter 2022
Affirming spaces of belonging
As the sun sets on this year, I'm reflecting on how my work is making meaning in transitional times. I’ve been working to clarify the values behind the work I do and the concerns I want it to stand for.
Intense stories can be unnerving, but they can also be healing. Stories can open us up to new worlds and ways of belonging that weren’t accessible before. Especially when there’s a reasonably safe space to share and listen.
I am fortunate to have spaces to share this work. And I am grateful for your continued support. I'm excited to keep learning and to continue tapping into this energy to access my joyful self. And take time to enjoy some fútbol!
Fall 2022
Letting go to rebuild
With the fall season upon us, it's time to express what we've learned so far this year to shift any negative perceptions we have into our strengths. It begins with making proactive choices to show more compassion to ourselves and others.
This is also a good time to release ourselves from judgement and start afresh. By living authentically, we can resonate with others who engage in collaborative work rooted in meaningful relationships with the local community.
Using this approach can enable us to better shape our social practice and community-based projects, create alternatives to harmful institutions, and build local community power.
Summer 2022
Hope and persistence
“Hope is not just a question of grit or courage. It's an ontological dimension of our human condition.”
-Paulo Freire
In light of the recent Supreme Court decisions on concealed weapons, Miranda warnings and abortion, I've been thinking about the demoralizing impact of these trials and disappointments on those of us involved in the struggle. Sure, these rulings can serve as a moral reminder that there's still work left to do...but at times this work can seem insurmountable. How we can persist and find hope to enact sustainable social change?
Seeking solace and guidance, I revisited an interview I conducted with Ruth Sidel as part of the Welfare Rights Initiative Oral History Project. Her story is nothing short of inspiring: she was a sociology professor at Hunter College who co-founded the Center for the Study of Family Policy in the 1980s, which in turn led to the creation of the grassroots activist group Welfare Rights Initiative. During her lifetime, Ruth was committed to breaking apart misrepresentations of poor women and children, predicated on evident economic disadvantage and social stigmas, both in her writing as well as her teaching. At one point, she provided an anecdote to demonstrate how the path towards challenging oppression in this country has never been easy: "I think every bit helps and one has to do what one can do. But I think it’s very tough. And, I think it’s a long, long haul...I tell the students about the struggle against child labor....It took 100 years from the first efforts to limit child labor until the Fair Labor Standards Act was passed in 1938, I think it was. A century for that to get passed... We have to use every method we have whether it be writing, speaking, organizing, whatever and know that it will take us, the people after us, and the people before us to do it."
Spring 2022
Attitude determines direction
Nothing is more painful than when reality batters our deepest beliefs, especially when things go wrong. It’s a difficult time for so many and those of us involved in social justice work feel it intensely. We are constantly reminded that the struggle is real when we confront the various challenges in bringing care to our communities.
The words be the change you want to see in the world has readily been used as a prescription for what ails us in such circumstances. I admit that I have cringed when hearing this affirmation...if only it were that simple. So I went searching for the source. While this mantra has been widely attributed to Gandhi, it turns out that he did not utter these words at all (Morton, 2011). Actually, the be the change statement was reworded from his more nuanced writings:
"We but mirror the world. All the tendencies present in the outer world are to be found in the world of our body. If we could change ourselves, the tendencies in the world would also change. As a man changes his own nature, so does the attitude of the world change towards him. This is the divine mystery supreme. A wonderful thing it is and the source of our happiness. We need not wait to see what others do.” (Gandhi, 1913)
Amazing what a bit more context can do. Before we can begin to change the world, we have to dive inward and take an honest look at our own attitude. We are being called to do the hard work of taking the initiative to alter our inner perspectives and not wait for others. Simply put, it’s up to us.
Winter 2022
All about love
"Love is an action, never simply a feeling."
-bell hooks
I've been thinking alot about the concept of love: what it is (care, nurturing), what it isn't (neglect, abuse), and how somewhere along the way love’s reach goes beyond the conventionally romantic. Often elusive but universally desired, love gives us that connection we seek to transform our lives in significant ways.
bell hooks, who we lost this past December, called on us to experience love as an act rather than just an emotion. For her, love is "the willingness to extend one's self for the purpose of nurturing one's own or another's spiritual growth." Reflecting on this vision of an honest, conscious practice of love, for hooks love cannot exist without justice. She wrote, “The heart of justice is truth telling, seeing ourselves and the world the way it is rather than the way we want it to be. More than ever before we, as a society, need to renew a commitment to truth telling.”
I think it’s worth asking about how we can create spaces for truth-telling and love, where listening is a demonstrative spiritual practice that can heal and transform our pain. Love is about feeling seen and heard alongside one another as we face life’s struggles. When that belief is applied to our life experiences, we start to open up - becoming more receptive with a clarity of seeing. Love becomes the necessary practice we hold onto as we learn to resist and thrive under any circumstances.
Fall 2021
practicing gratitude
joy, heartbreak, wonder, stagnation, grief, loneliness, love.
We all might know this, but our problems are not new. The trick is learning how to navigate our human experience as we continue to move forward.
Negativity in our minds and hearts can take up a lot of space. Its darkness keeps us from seeing things for what they are as we're trying to overcome difficulties and cultivate renewal. This is not to say that we shouldn’t honor or lean into the weight some days bring, but beware of lingering there for too long. Practicing gratitude has helped me tune back in. I'm thankful for how stories help me reinterpret what it means to be human. Stories have the power to remind us that we are never alone and we are always in a process of change.
As I continue to move forward, the process of storytelling reminds me to be kind and to be grateful.
Spring 2021
Who's ready for some spring vibes?
It's time to step up and celebrate the fact that we are getting through this pandemic. There's no better way to do this than by amplifying stories told through a social justice lens that engage with our communities.
With the city's safety restrictions beginning to lift, this opens up new possibilities for us to be in community while giving back appreciation, forging deeper connection and joy.
As we continue to do the difficult and deeply personal work of sustaining energy and optimism in a time of unprecedented challenge, let's not forget to take time to also enjoy the good that is surfacing and imagine ways to re-connect with each other safely, one step at a time.
Winter 2020
Collective Listening and Healing
Systems of Care, Alona Weiss, 2020.
As we approach the winter break, I am grateful for the privilege of working on storytelling projects with wonderful collaborators and friends that are oriented towards an encounter between care and the desire for a just society.
While I continue to get satisfaction from this work during this difficult time, I also recognize that it's time for some rest. Having been raised in NYC, I've been in the hustle and grind mindset for as long as I can remember, but I am thankful for the chance to slow down. We are all battling coronavirus burnout and pandemic fatigue. I hope to take some time to process and reflect, to take time to heal and renew. I look forward to the new year and to continue extending community care, while staying committed to health and safety measures as we get through the next few months.
Summer 2020
First and foremost, I hope this finds you and your loved ones safe and healthy. This has been an overwhelming time. As we are coping with rapid change and struggle in our own ways, our community networks matter more than ever. I am grateful for the friendship and strength I find around me, and I'm more motivated than ever to share work that highlights how we care about and nurture our communities during these times.