Roe v. Wade hints at how collectively clueless we are on what to do next

This weekend we had a lot to reflect in the direction of our country. I wondered: from our space, and as individuals who wake up every day to work and take care of our families, what REAL, lasting change can we affect? Will my actions have an impact on the collective, or am I a powerless drop in a gigantic ocean?

To start, a portion of citizens in this country feel they do not even belong here. That was me up until a few years ago. A US citizen for at least a decade now, many times I felt I had to be thankful to be “allowed” to live in this country. Yes, even as a citizen. When you feel you don’t belong and when you were culturally told you would stay safe by putting your head down and not rocking the boat, well…yes, that is what you will tend to do.

Another portion feel they do not have a voice. They do not find themselves represented and cared for in the spheres of power. We may be doing slightly better in racial or gender representation, but there is a huge disconnect between the reality, thinking, and values of those in power versus “the rest of us”. Power can have that ability to bring people into VIP spaces, put them up in pedestals, where they may forget who they represent.

Others can barely cope with life after covid, mental health challenges, inflation, and prefer to refuge themselves on screens, drugs, alcohol, and more.

And there’s more. We have been so busy focused on our differences, our labels as white, black, Latino, immigrant, legal, illegal, queer, gay, lesbian, and so much more, that we lost our unity, sense of belonging, and collective power to drive change. The US is a very diverse country, and has a unique ability to place people in buckets, labeled. Divided.

In these times of unrest and uncertainty, you may wonder what YOU can do, from your place and space? Wait until the next election, rally on the streets…will that change anything? I wonder the same.

Let me share what I plan to do:

First, take care of myself physically, mentally, emotionally, spirituality. I will not allow all of this, and more going on, to make me sick, because more casualties is not the answer. Staying healthy and balanced in all those areas is key and just a first step.

Second, keep doing the work I do and that works. There is an area of influence we all have. Focus on that. Create change from YOUR space of personal power. You know what that is, you know how your work can affect change.

For me, it is to work with immigrants and communities of color to dismantle all those ideas of inferiority and unworthiness our culture influenced us with. I help people unlearn all the cultural inferiority and powerlessness, so that they embrace they are important, they do belong, and they can create change.

If we believe ourselves small and powerlessness, that is the reality we will keep creating over and over. And TOO MANY of us have felt that way for too long.

And if your space, your work, your job does not feel meaningful enough, I have an idea for you: mentor others, particularly young individuals of color, immigrants, racially, ethnically, and gender diverse people. At a minimum, let’s create change through the next generation of leaders. And by giving, you will realize and experience you got it in you.

Transformational, lasting change starts with the individual, and spreads into the collective, impacting our societies, communities, countries, and ultimately, the world. The world we dream of, and the one we deserve. I don’t have the answers for collective change, except that it starts with each one of us.

It will take that we first find our self-worth, disconnect from screens and other addictive behaviors to connect with our essence and inner wisdom, find our voice, and dismantle all the conditioning of silence, powerlessness, victimhood, lack, division, we were raised with, to finally take assertive action.

I see this time as an awakening from all those disempowering narratives, and a new beginning. What will we do differently this time?

#uncolonizedlatinas #risingtogethermovement