The Fire, the Fear, and the Work before us
I wrote this in January and completely forgot about it. But after a morning journaling session, I found it again—and I knew it was time to share.
Fear is loud. Fear is organized. Fear is working hard to convince us that it’s winning.
But that’s not the full story.
This piece is a reminder—to myself and to all of us—that even when things seem to be unraveling, we are still here. Still breathing. Still with work to do.
We get to create what comes next.
Press play to hear me read this piece.
The Fire, the Fear, and The Work Before Us
My mind and heart have been racing at a pace I can barely keep up with.
Ideas and downloads
Ancestors and Tangents
and just the interconnectedness of it all.
What is happening right now is an outright slap,
erosion,
destruction,
and annihilation of
the ideas, values, and vision that were once held as sacred.
But why were they sacred?
Togetherness. A melting pot. Freedoms—of choice, of religion, of sexuality, of expression, of lifestyle, and of spirit. The freedom to have a dream and then build it. The freedom and the potential to all live side by side in our own uniqueness and strengths without fear of harm for being who we are and embodying those dreams. This is the most human ideal. Our very reason for being. Our essence. Our spirit. Our true purpose.
But if you do not love, you cannot be love or give love.
And let us not forget that the opposite of love is fear.
Fear is here. Growing, expanding, and building armies fueled by anxiety, desperation, depression, shame, violence, and darkness. Fear is plundering, marching forward, adding to their ranks with the intention of destroying all who will not comply.
And yet, even with all of this fear army’s dramatics, tactics, and fervor, the light—the love—remains. It’s still here unmoving, grounded, and connecting to the deepest wells of strength and resilience.
But the time has come for more to open their hearts and look within, rather than searching externally for what will save us from the despair, cruelty, and emptiness being offered.
It’s within. It’s within. It’s within.
And why is that so deflating for us to hear? Why do we resist it?
“There’s a fire! Everything’s burning down! We’re all going to die! I should be running around and getting the water and supplies and…and…and…and!”
Question: Who are the firefighters? Where are the firefighters?
Have you slept? Have you eaten? Is your home prepared? Can you lift heavy objects? Do you know the escape route? Do you know your neighbor’s name? Do you have your supplies ready?
If the answer to these questions is “No”, baby, you’ve got to take care of you and yours first.
Nothing is saved by the fear, anxiety, and paralysis that comes from just hearing of fire, viewing fire, and feeling helpless to put it out.
The OGs let us know that being well prepared, knowledgeable, practiced, grounded, nourished, and connected makes for one who can extinguish not only today’s fire but the slow burns turned raging fires of the future that take a little time to put out.
So how do I support you—and you, and you—in doing the work of reflection, observation, and understanding so that you, in turn, show up in love?
Love of yourself, love for others, and love for the vision and execution of not just a better future but a beautifully liberated, connected, and generative one?
How do I support you in connecting to the truth of who you are, so that you can show up in your thoughts, words, and actions toward the future you truly want to see; our future?
The harm being done—and the harm that has been done—is very real.
Right now amidst the chaos, things feel shaky, scary, and uprooting. But it’s been building for a long time. A slow burn finally rising to the surface, now out in the open, fully resourced and appearing unstoppable. They are pulling out all the stops.
And yet, deep in my soul, in my knowledge of history, and my understanding of people—especially my people—a fear-fueled opposition going full force on all fronts means that they know what they are up against.
It means that the side of truth, love, and beauty, has been gaining and winning.
It means we’ve been doing a lot of things right.
So while it may seem like this is insurmountable, and you’re exhausted and things we and those before us worked hard for have been rolled back into oblivion, we have to remember: People before us were out here being free, thriving, finding joy, building communities, creating masterpieces, and demanding freedom with zero of the rights and liberties we have today.
Their vision was so powerful that we are still inspired and catalyzed by it, refining and building upon their tactics today. They are still inspiring global movements toward a better life for all.
We have always found ways to come together, dream, create, and connect under even the most deplorable circumstances. And if you connect to the ancient technologies of numerology, astrology, nature, and more, they all say the same thing: “Yeah, things are ending. It’s time to rebuild.”
This is a time for us to shed the old. To let what no longer serves our highest good die, so we can birth something new.
It’s a time for us to witness what is here. What have we created, allowed, and exalted as a collective?
It’s time to see, feel, and know what it is here—so we can decide what we want to release, and what we want to build.
It’s time for us to come home—to ourselves and each other. To embrace the truth of our interconnectedness.
It's time to create our next reality. Our new world.
Our new ways of being that help us steadily put out the fires, and move towards the vision we all have that keeps the breath in our bodies and the spark in our hearts when we rise to greet each day.
So, let’s begin.
If this resonated with you, I’d love to hear your thoughts. Comment below or share this with someone who needs it.
