Why do we do this work, anyway?

Why do we spend time learning how to regulate our nervous system, challenge painful thoughts, and expand our capacity for what’s possible? 

I can tell you this: It’s not to have a more Instagrammable life. 

It’s not even so we can feel “good” most of the time. 

This work is my life’s calling for one reason: 

So we can dismantle systems of oppression and collectively build a more beautiful, harmonious, thriving world. 

If we protect ourselves against feelings of failure at all costs, how will we ever have the capacity to look at our own racist behaviors? 

If we funnel endless energy into what society has told us is how we should present (our bodies, our homes, our children), we’re too tired to fight against injustices in our community and we miss out on the joy of the messy, the different. 

If we believe success is a zero-sum game, that others must lose for us to win, we are wary of lifting one another up or stepping aside so someone else can share her voice because we are afraid we’ll miss our chance. 

The good news: there’s another way, and it’s delicious. 

Nature knows this. Organisms in ecosystems evolved to collectively support one another. 

Think about a beautiful pollinator garden: 

Do you think for a second the black eyed susans are jealous of the trees in the background because they’re taller and provide shade on a hot day? Do you think the trees are jealous of the flowers because they get so many the visits from the pollinators? 

Of course not! 

Every living being – from the microbes in the soil to the butterflies that flutter through – supports this system, and the whole is more beautiful than the sum of its parts. 

Here’s what’s awesome about being humans uncoupling from oppressive systems: 

We all win! 

You feel more comfortable in the spotlight and sharing the microphone. 

You feel more at home in your own skin and see more beauty in the world around you. 

You get to rest, recharge, take exquisite loving care of yourself and model that possibility for the person next to you. 

You get to increase your earning capacity and have money to support businesses and causes you believe in. 

If you’re only interested in climbing the corporate ladder and reframing your eating habits, yeah, I technically have the skills to help with that, but I’m not the coach for you. 

If you’re ready to peel back the oppressive beliefs getting in your own way so you have greater capacity to lift up those around you, then let’s make some magic, dear one.