“Sometimes the first system we have to change is our own.”
I heard that from Emily Read Daniels at a workshop I attended last fall. The topic was trauma-informed change but instead of taking on the world “out there” we started by getting centered on/in ourselves, and with one another.
I tend to hold my breath. I have to remind myself that breathing in and out isn’t optional. I don’t always know how to stop, pause, relax, or feel my belly rise or fall.
But I really want to breathe in for a moment and celebrate the successes and the wins. I want to hop off the what-next-what’s-wrong -what-still-needs-to-change train, in general, and more specifically in the after Oprah on 60 Minutes moment, we’re collectively in.
There’s much left to do.
It’s true. A LOT!
But there are huge wins as well. Wins some have fought decades and lives and careers for.
We may retire words like "willful disobedience," or "making excuses" when discussing other people.
More of us may understand the work it takes to survive being in actual danger, threat, and how a wonky nervous system makes it hard to regulate.
Maybe, when people say, “I’m doing the best I can,” we might say, “And what an overachievement!" We might say, "In fact, you're freakishly awesome.”
That's medicinal. That's health and hope. Full piece.
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