We began as we always do, with remembering our born rights to be connected to each other, the land we share, and the time in which we occupy in a story greater than ourselves. I dedicate this learning to all of humanity. Amin.

We asked, "When we are all free, how will our faith have manifested? What will be different?" Knowing this is the most difficult question, one of the adult imagination, we still braved our answers. And we started with tears. We shall cry for months, years, for the seemingly insurmountable challenges contaminating the entire globe. We are face to face with feelings of inadequacy of action, and mourn the loss of our agency. Yet, we continue to believe in humanity. We are not just consumers, we are people with traditions of stability and who believe in divine judgement. It's just hard to imagine it again, honestly. And that's real too.

We've come to this re-imagining of the very definition of faith through human-sanctioned, brute, religious force, only proving the opposite effect: open-mindedness. Instead of by way of compulsion or absolute absence of, we've embraced the willingness to learn from all practices; accepting meaning and guidance spoken with many human-given names. We glean from these teachings mantras, mottos, simple rules, daily remembrances. As a call to spirit, we're learning through this seeking that we who experience grief feel it the same. Grief is a form of love, it proves we are human enough to love in many forms, and now we grieve for humanity itself. And, all the while increasing in gratitude for life itself. Simply put, "Don't be a jerk."

And to free ourselves from this cycle of unrequited grief, we affirm that freedom is rooted in faith not only by asking "Who are you?" but also, "What are you?" And we answer, "I am limitless, unbounded love." Let us entangle each other in healthy ways. Let us grieve, let us LEARN TO CRY TOGETHER as we mourn the passing of the old, damaged ways, and all the suffering it mindlessly inflicted.  And as we do, we shall rid ourselves of words like, "lazy" and "shame". We long for idyllic pastures, mountaintops, and the solitude of the garden yet we still come down from the mountain just to do the work. For others. 

Talking about work, when exactly did we first learn what that word meant, and isn't it time we examined our definition? As we emerge from our "colonial hangover", we look again at hunting. Fishing. Eating snacks in a simple life. Sleeping, resting. Healing. We hear the murmurs of the same symphony, each of us with our brilliant instruments longing to play on beat. Calling each other as the fogs lifts and we confront chaos. We call each other to make music together not as multiple communities, but as one community. We make one song, let us make it harmonious. 

We shall have frequent slow down, meditation spots and warn each other to not get lost in the woods. We work on our selves as a form of worship of a greater power. We hold grace for others because we know to not take anything personally (Yup, we read The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz too!). We are right on time. And now is the time to take off these training wheels and see how far we can go in our own spheres of influence. 

The world is both big and within your reach where you stand. You are the world. The people around you are the world. The folks you hire, buy from, care for, love...This world is our work: To support people and spaces that share your love of humanity, like this one. May we compete for the title of "Most Generous" and celebrate the fact that we are mirrors to each other.  We're busy life-ing and we do so joyfully as we blossom towards each other. That's faith. That's work. That's equity. 

Next month, we invite folks around the proverbial fire to call for "The End of Shaming", as inspired by the circle above.  5pm PST, Tuesday, February 27, 2024. Stay in tune. 

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Why must we continually prioritize the comfort of those who cause us harm? We deserve workplaces free of discrimination, harassment, intimidation, and retaliation. Join us, as we learn together ways and means to share our discomfort, unease, and experiences of injustice by calling upon our rights, and equal need for comfort. We meet at the intersection of "Being Right" and "Effective".  Let's get to work. Better. ​

 We came together and before we began, we remembered what we come from. This earth holds us in our learning, shows us compassion and care, how may we do the same? Don't we deserve comfort and care as we give it so freely to others deserving or not? What do we look like when we do this? What do we look like when we don't? Stereotypes portray our righteous indignation as irrational anger, insolence, insubordination, disloyalty, ineptitude. But who does that serve? We leave with a vengeance, with retribution and debilitating hatred soaking our delicate souls. No, that's not healthy and no, it's not normal. We have normalized injustice as default. No more. Perpetrators of inequity are the company's liability, not those who name injustice. 

On this day, in this space surrounded by those who love, we share our answers to the question, "What do I look like when I know the job needs me more than I need it?" What do we look like to ourselves and others when we tolerate injustice and when we don't? Following is a recount of what was learned about how we teach others to treat us. This is us taking responsibility. Back. 

We recognize confidence not as a destination, but as an ability and invitation to learn. In our ideal we are always seen as learners, those confident enough to learn, and learn in public. Yet when we are confident, others see us as too emotional, coming on too strong. or even worse, imposters. Oh, if they only knew! We've learned to key in on all signs, smelling evidence a mile away...one being all the "Good Folks" quitting. We too then fanaticize about a dramatic quit scene, as the best part of the job. We hate burning bridges, we understand jams. but we also recognize mind control / mental slavery when we see it and there's literally not enough money in the world...Guilt trips don't work anymore; if we leave our position we know it shall be filled and us, forgotten.

We take guidance from those among us who actively decolonize the mind and practice zero expectation of marginalization. We talk to managers, we send food back. Listen to Black Women, we understand how to show up with compassion and simultaneously give zero fucks on how others judge us. And we ALL know what's true, we already accounted for our collective worth. Because in many ways, we are simply UNEMPLOYABLE. We don't tolerate anything anymore because we don't depend on money for our happiness or to fulfill our soul desires. In the most professional way, we say, "Fuck you, capitalism and go ahead and keep your fake-ass impostor syndrome." Yeah, we cuss. One voice alone is righteous indignation, and ours combined here is validation. Let us fill stadiums and make the wind blow different with our rowdy applause and boisterous declarations of love.  We chant, "I love you, you have value, we need you, what do you need..."

We ARE loud. We are persistent. Our patience is not infinite.  They see us as bullies, reverse racists, aggressive, cocky, crazy, entitled, straight up intimidating...We know we're scary, the Truth is scary; The truth that capitalism is a racist tool, and we are on the road to liberation. We don't need this job, we have social net worth. You. Need. Us. More, Than. We. Need. You. So raise your bar, dear organizations, and figure out how to manage the truth because we deserve justice wherever we exist.

We read, "Decolonizing Wealth", and "The Four Agreements", we listen to poets like Ocean Vuong and Azura Tyabji. and you know what we say? "We're mad as hell and we're not gonna take this anymore!" Then, we smile at each other in genuine love as our bodies and voices change the very direction of the wind. Stay in tune, worthy one, the future is upon us!

When talking about complaints, we insist on considering liability to a fault. Yet, we get it sooooo wrong. Look: If an organization has an employee that continually breaks other laws around safety or literally any other protocol, we can easily apply the label of "Whoa, that's a liability". To ignore such a risk to safety and mission to the point of crime is obviously an unacceptable liability.
Guess what. Discrimination is a crime. Harassment is a crime. Retaliation is a crime. And those who commit said illegal acts are in fact, a LIABILITY. Why then, is the employee who finds a way to complain, to point out illegal behavior, placed in the liability category? Because we have the right to tell others and protect our rights via bona fide legal systems?
We say, "Nah." We are not the liability, instead look at those who perpetrate illegal acts as the greatest risk.  Of those surveyed, 47% of Americans would quit their job for less pay for a better cultural fit. The average cost of an unskilled position is $3,800. Those who cause harm are the liability.
And, no. Harassment is not a "difference of leadership styles". And no. It need not be connected to one's demographic identity. So far, our community has listed the following acts as evidence of harassment:

• Questioning credentials, intellect, expertise, and/or capacity without evidence
• Unsolicited comments / conversations regarding one’s identity(ies) and/or culture
• Patronizing / consistently over-explaining
• Consistent aggression for no discernable reason
• Consistently interrupting or not allowing one to speak
• Speaking disparagingly about someone to others (marginalization), or in public
• Speaking about someone in the third person while they're present ("Is he ignoring me?")
• Not allowing or interfering with others reasonably socializing
• Consistently assigning less favorable tasks
• Not giving proper credit to work products
• Removal and/or addition of duties and responsibilities without justification
• Aggressively not allowing for mistakes or human error
• Invading personal space
• Unreasonable and/or unfair expectations around time allowances
• Violating confidentiality
• Involving unnecessary people in conflict

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In your experience, what would you add to this list of acts of workplace harassment? Let them know what we know exactly how they are liable for your wellbeing. Name it.