WUNJO - The Rune of Joy
Years ago I bought The Book of Runes by Ralph H. Blum. It's a handbook for the Spiritual Warrior and the rune stones are an oracle providing a mirror and a little magic for knowing yourself deeply. I've consulted these runes many times over the years and value the way they consistently bring my focus directly to the heart of the matter. Wunjo (joy) is a rune that repeatedly appears for me - an inner urge to follow my joy always. It's a good way for me.
Writing is something that brings me peace, joy and exhilaration to share my inner world. Writing helps me make sense of myself and my world. I started writing for myself in high school. Julia Cameron's The Artist's Way introduced me to Morning pages and they have been my friend for years.
Ocean
What’s compelling to me about the ocean today is the expanse of it, the width, length and depth of it going way out beyond my view, and the sound of the wind and the waves in conversation. The Pacific Ocean in Northern California is fierce and cold, but being next to it makes anything seem…
Filter
In my adult years of dating men, I often marvel at their collective inability to get me, to allow my feelings to exist without trying to fix or solve me, to comfortably let me lead, or to be curious about what I might say, do or be if they stopped talking for a bit and…
Tone Policing
If you feel the need to say “Not all white people,” you should watch this video. It’s not only aggravating to the very people you are opening your mouth to say that you are down with, it’s also counter-productive, unnecessary, and an exhibit of white privilege to believe that you have the right to demand…
Co-Conspirator’s Lounge
Recently I had a lot of feelings about being recruited, evangelized or pressured into things in a sales-y way. I’ve been reflecting on those feelings and looking for ways that I behave in the same way as those I condemned. I see that there’s a difference between an organization that pressures/requires you to get your…
Rivka
I’m thinking about my friend and client, Rivka Wendy Faith. She’s gone. Ending her life was her final decision. I honor her and I will miss her. She was always so warm and kind to me when I saw her. She’d come over to my house to work on her website and bring me tea,…
Tuesday Thoughts
I saw pumpkins on a porch in Berkeley. I noticed that the leaves are starting to change color. Summer is waning, but it’s still warm enough to eat outside in the shade and sleep with the windows open. I smelled a hint of fall in the air last night. I felt both relieved and anxious.…
Alone
I didn’t expect be 41 and have been single for over a decade, but that’s what is happening. I’ve decided that I’m done writing and re-writing dating profiles and going on endless dates to prove that I’m taking action and putting myself out there. All the stories and anecdotal evidence of what “worked” for some…
Me & White Leaders
Thinking about leadership in terms of white leaders, I notice that I’ve more often clarified the race of a leader if they are not white and that is part of my white supremacist conditioning to assume that leaders are white unless otherwise specified. The impact that white, often male, leaders have had on my life…
Me & White Feminism
I’ve learned that what I understood feminism to be was actually white feminism. White feminism has been fighting for equality and justice for white women first, but never coming back to fight for or recognize the needs of BIWOC. Nothing included in my education ever mentioned non-white feminism. I have read Alice Walker, bell hooks,…
Me & White Supremacy • Post Week 3
This week I’ve become aware that my brand of white supremacy is ignorance. Not being in spaces to hear BIPOC communicating with each other about current events. I haven’t sought out, heard or listened to the outrage, pain and devastation about the black & brown lives that are lost and how exhausted BIPOC are from…
Nia Wilson
18 year old Nia Wilson was stabbed to death by 27 year old John Cowell at MacArthur BART on Sunday night. Murderer John Cowell also stabbed Nia’s sister, Letifah Wilson, who survived his attack. Whether or not police find ‘evidence’ that this murder & stabbing was racially motivated, we (especially BIPOC) do not need any…
Me & Being Called Out
I’ve learned that the way I react to being called out is the measure of how deeply I am doing my anti-racism work. If a BIPOC takes the time to call me out on racist behavior, using my weapons of whiteness or needing to check my privilege, I hope that I could get through the…