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A revolutionary act of love not hurt 🌱💫💖
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Dear community, Che Guevara once said, when asked, “What is the most important quality of a true revolutionary?” “At 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.” 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 else’s hurt in that moment. How often have you heard someone say something like, “If you think that’s bad…”? So I’ve been sitting with these questions: How can I be the observer of both my hurt and someone else’s? How can I observe from what Che calls a great feeling of love? I also realised that if you’re anything like me, you may have spent a lot of your life hurting the person closest to you. Yourself. And here’s 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 10⁹, 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, “I’m not [insert lack of privilege].” 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 else’s hurt, something shifts. Something magical happens.💫💫💫 My dad always seemed to come from love, not hurt. He never said, “In my day we didn’t have X.” 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! 🤣 So I’ve 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 I’m 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? 🤣 As Rumi said “You 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 🔥 PROJECT 10⁹, 1 Billion Voices - 2 spaces left! ✨ PROJECT 10⁹, Facilitator Circle- 3 spaces left! 🧔🏾♂️ Men in Social Impact - ONLY 1 space left! 🌱 Rise in Our Roots - Restarts May! 🎸CEO Rockstar Club ✊🏾 Emerging 1,000 Links: https://project109.carrd.co/ https://emerging1000.carrd.co/ https://riseinourroots.carrd.co/ https://calendly.com/mo-belonging-people/connect 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 So I did my usual meditation this morning. I put a colander on my head, stuck a whisk in the air, and asked the universe a question... Today’s question was: What’s a big challenge in society?” I’m kidding about the first bit (colander and whisk). Although next time Eli asks me one of his endless “Why?” questions, I will genuinely hand him a colander and whisk. 🤣 But I did ask the question... seriously. And the answer that came up was:Men. Not all men. But men. I gulp a little...
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Dear amazing community. Can you help share this? Grief Tenders for Liberation | 17 June 12pm-4pm | Camden Town 30 spaces available! A gathering for activists, social justice campaigners and overwhelmed hearts. I'm partnering with a group of amazing facilitators for a one-off event that will ground you, bring us into community and give us more collective energy. We want to help support you during this time of seismic trauma, in community. We're running it on a donation basis to keep it...