from rigid to queer, hard to soft, and still evolving
where are you turning for soul nourishment / joy / aliveness?
In my volunteering with raptor rehabilitation – spending time with birds of prey definitely leaves me feeling alive (and keeps me on my toes!) The owls, especially, fill me with awe.
what is a text you hold sacred?
I’m surprised at my struggle with this question! There are many texts that have been so sacred and transformative for me over periods of time, and then later, send me to grow in additional directions. The ‘sacred’ status morphs and shifts over time for me. Right now, I am reading “What It Takes To Heal” by Prentis Hemphill and their work is definitely sacred…
what is a spiritual practice currently sustaining you?
Lately, I’ve been trying to start my day with something intentional instead of turning to scrolling or going straight into work. Just carving out the time to sit at my altar, light some incense, listen to a song that grounds me, and be present, for a moment, to who/what matters to me most.
how would you describe the work you feel called to do in this world (even if it is not the work you get paid for)?
I believe there is so much opportunity to evolve in this moment (which is decades), individually and collectively, into a more just, more satisfied, more simple, more compassionate future. I feel called to be a part of confronting what must be confronted, and drawing out the magic and power of those who long for a better world, to be one little piece of finding our way through a more honest story and practices to a more free life…
knowing that none of us “has it all together,” what is one question you are wrestling with, or bit of wisdom you are struggling to enflesh in your daily life?
I am still learning how to be as gentle with myself as I wish to be with others.
who is one elder / ancestor / mentor whose guidance you draw from? what is one piece of wisdom they have offered?
In recent years, I have learned to recognize ancestry beyond the human alone. There are so many lifeforms that have been carving pathways of survival and flourishing through incredible barriers for millennia. Many have been around so much longer than humans, much less “me.” Trees. And Fungus. Two particular examples, teaching me about adapting, and steadiness, and living on timelines that counter-balance our culture of instant everything.
what’s one oppressive untruth you are practicing unlearning / divesting from?
Incremental institutional reform as the pathway to deep and lasting social change.
what is one thing you wish were required listening / viewing? (please link to the song, poem, art piece, podcast, etc.)
There are so many forces exhausting and discouraging people from owning our power to be a part of a larger living differently. I wish for everyone to wrestle with the hopeful invitation sung by Beverly Glenn-Copeland:
The Ones Ahead – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qHt8vXxE9qQ
any of your website and/or social media handles you’d like us to include / highlight?
IG – @mxmjade