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A revolutionary act of love not hurt π±π«π
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Dear community, Che Guevara once said, when asked, βWhat is the most important quality of a true revolutionary?β βAt the risk of seeming ridiculous, let me say that the true revolutionary is guided by a great feeling of love. It is impossible to think of a genuine revolutionary lacking this quality.β After a really deep and at times angered conversation with someone close to me, I realised something uncomfortable. I can harm the people closest to me without being fully conscious. Why? Because when my hurt feels so enormous, I am unable to witness someone elseβs hurt in that moment. How often have you heard someone say something like, βIf you think thatβs badβ¦β? So Iβve been sitting with these questions: How can I be the observer of both my hurt and someone elseβs? How can I observe from what Che calls a great feeling of love? I also realised that if youβre anything like me, you may have spent a lot of your life hurting the person closest to you. Yourself. And hereβs the thing. While parts of my hurt have shaped my drive toward social justice, none of the CEO Rockstar Group, Rise in Our Roots, Project 10βΉ, or Emerging 1,000 come from a place of hurt. My play with my son or my close connection with community do not come from a place of hurt. They all come from a great feeling of love toward change and community. My hurt shows up in other ways. Through bouts of anxiety. Through ancestral wounds. Through a lack of confidence. Through thoughts like, βIβm not [insert lack of privilege].β Through guilt or shame. When that happens, it can become my internal cycle. But when I come as a revolutionary, when I stand in my agency and do something that matters from a place of love, while also being able to witness someone elseβs hurt, something shifts. Something magical happens.π«π«π« My dad always seemed to come from love, not hurt. He never said, βIn my day we didnβt have X.β He just kept growing, quietly, patiently. I so wish I could have this conversation with him right now. If I want to be revolutionary and courageous, in my purpose, in my parenting, and with myself, I need to find that loving awareness. Especially when it feels like it is being eroded by the oppression happening around me, never mind this ridiculous weather! π€£ So Iβve been saying this to myself: There is a part of me that is hurt and oppressed. There is also a part of me that can come from loving awareness. And the question Iβm holding is this: How can I choose the part of me that is coming from loving awareness? Write it down on a post-it and put it next to your desk, don't answer the question, be aware of it. This week's prompt This week, where might you acknowledge the part of you that is hurt, while also acknowledging the part of you that can meet others with love, curiosity, and the capacity to truly listen? Easy right? π€£ As Rumi said βYou think because you understand 'one' you must also understand 'two', because one and one make two. But you must also understand 'and'" Events and announcements - email me for details π₯ PROJECT 10βΉ, 1 Billion Voices - 2 spaces left! ββ¨ PROJECT 10βΉ, Facilitator Circle- 3 spaces left! π§πΎββοΈ Men in Social Impact - ONLY 1 space left!β π± Rise in Our Roots - Restarts May! β πΈCEO Rockstar Club βπΎ Emerging 1,000 Links: βhttps://project109.carrd.co/β βhttps://emerging1000.carrd.co/β βhttps://riseinourroots.carrd.co/β βhttps://calendly.com/mo-belonging-people/connectβ Music - what a tune!
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Mohammed Ali (The Innovation)
If you are working on social impact and social justice this is a newsletter to energise your journey - sign up by adding your email below
Dear community I long for a just community.I long for tough conversations held with love and connection.I long for us working together for a better future, for ourselves and for generations to come.I long for a society where ancestral wisdom is welcomed everywhere. Where queer is normal.Where we take on our unlearning and grow together.Where we can sit in difficult conversations with loving awareness. A place where we loosen the grip of money, and hold a vision of something new. I feel a...
Dear community, I keep hearing about grief and sadness, but also courage and love. I keep hearing about many of us going back to old patterns we thought we had already worked through. I keep seeing this in sectoral meetings too. So what is it like to be you right now in a world of turmoil? I would love to know. Email me. For me, here is what it is like beyond the square Zoom screen. I am working through my ancestral trauma, wanting to me the final iteration of the violence of the past and not...
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