“It is not power that corrupts but fear. Fear of losing power corrupts those who wield it and fear of the scourge of power corrupts those who are subject to it.” ~ Aung San Suu Kyi
My earliest childhood memories are rooted in state violence. Much of my life since has involved some measure of abuse or loss at the hands of the carceral state. It took me 13 years of personal seeking and discovery, coupled with 6 years of intensive holistic counseling, to understand my triggers—abuse of power + state violence. Yet my triggers are my fire. My ongoing passion and resistance against the carceral state, whether reflected in championing racial justice in the U.S./globally, or using my platform to support freedom and democracy for a country like Myanmar being held hostage by a brutal military/terrorist regime. My own liberation and reconciliation will always be tied to that of any other being suffering.
We each have our own stories, traumas, heartbreaks. The things that break our hearts are often the things we run towards. I challenge each of you to take what breaks you, to transmute it from a place of love + compassion into something useful. Something beyond yourself. Something that has the ability to be felt across time and worlds. Let your outrage be your light to shine on all oppressive systems and structures that work to enslave or exploit any living sentient being, anywhere on this planet. Dharma is about liberation. None of us are free until we are all free.
