JUST GO FOR IT

“My silences had not protected me. Your silence will not protect you. But for every real word spoken, for every attempt I had ever made to speak those truths for which I am still seeking, I had made contact with other women while we examined the words to fit a world in which we all believed, bridging our differences.”

― Audre Lorde, The Cancer Journals”

My lesson in everyday activism this week: just go for it.

To deal with my visceral response to the news: my grief, anger, frustration, disappointment and even fear, I have started joining with others to organize gatherings. I don’t see myself as an “organizer,” yet I find myself desperate to be in the presence of others. And so I make gatherings.

This process has taught me that:

1. Getting people together is immensely gratifying
2. It gets easier the more I do it.
3. Contrary to what I expected, I didn’t need permission from some unknown higher authority to start organizing around an issue I care deeply about, I just needed an idea and the drive to follow through. (A unifying national experience didn't hurt.)

Prior to all of this, I thought that in order to start “doing something” I would need more education, more experience, more clout. As it turns out, all the tools I needed were already in my hands. I just hadn't realized it yet.

Don't get me wrong. I won’t pretend that I have this organizing business all figured out. There is still much work to be done, and I have much to learn. But these small realizations are an encouragement.

So. You don’t have to have all the answers before you even begin, in fact admitting that you don’t can actually be helpful. 

Tools for Inspiration

MY INSPIRATION This week, the words of Audre Lorde. “Without community, there is no liberation.” No matter what loud messages we hear to the contrary, we need each other.

Aubrey