Unstitching from Systems and Sewing ourselves

When facing our relationship with white supremacy it can be overwhelming to see how wide and deep it is stitched into everyday life. In our Reclaiming Leadership Framework course we address four domains that support you in your journey back to your true, authentic self. The Remember domain is the first we address. It is about looking both objectively and critically about our relationship with systems of harm. We want to stay objective as we look at how we have participated in and been negatively impacted by these systems and then we can critically assess where we want to start to unstitch ourselves from them. 

It isn’t easy or overnight work. It requires us to ground ourselves in our own intuition. It requires us to get honest about the ugly. It requires us to take action. The action is typically where we get hung up. Ego gets really loud and pulls in a lot of justification for staying put. It will start to compare, judge, and bargain. Ego will convince us that any movement other than a giant swing is not enough and not at all worth it. 

This is how the system keeps us in place, so we have to get out of our own way. We have to decide on a step. ONE. that will lead to another. And another. And another. 

If you already are grounded in your intuition and have a solid read on the difference between your intuition and ego, a great place to start is to ask, “What part of white supremacy is holding me back from fully participating in a system of humanity*?” 

Maybe what is holding you back is your own algorithm. Who is feeding you content? Who are you reading? Who are you listening to? Is your algorithm representative of the rich diversity on the globe? If not, how can you start to widen your search? Maybe your workplace is inequitable when it comes to diverse leadership. What are ways you can ensure voices are heard and input acted on that is in alignment with the system of humanity? In all this, ask your intuition for the practical steps to take and watch your progress. It is easy to stop or give up when we hit the sharp edge of white supremacy, but our intuition is rooting for us. We are part of the system of humanity and when we all start to undo ourselves from systems of harm, we widen the way for systems of collective liberation to flow freely. 

Your path will not look like anyone else’s, but when we all keep our eyes on the shared goal of collective liberation, we can see our contribution to it and together we will break the dam of harmful systems. When we remember who we are outside of these conditional systems, we see clearly our purpose; our artistry.

And when we are in our artistry, we are in the collective dance of humanity.

*The system of humanity is one grounded in three principles: all humans have the right to their worth, autonomy, and unconditional love.