“What would it mean to overcome oppression? What would it mean for our society to have that kind of transformation?... What awareness? What daring? To get people to see that no one is really thriving if others are laid waste?... What would it mean? What would it take?” VisionCourageAwarenessCommitmentTransformationConvictionOppressionPotentialDaringNo More Oppression Author:Shellen Lubin
“Whatever else is going on, this feels well used. And someday when I am all used up-- used and used for the very last time-- let them say that of my life: let them say that I was well used.” LovePurposePassionAwarenessExpressionSelf AwarenessSelf WorthGenerosityDedicationWell Used Author:Shellen Lubin
“When people ask 'how do I know if I'm being too easy or hard on myself?' or 'how hard should I be on myself?' I answer, 'hard enough to motivate you to do something, and not so hard that it makes you want to bury your head in your pillow and give up.' So now I add, to the question 'how much should the director in the back of my head be side-coaching what I'm saying and doing?': enough to make you self-aware (and aware of others, and receptive and responsive to them) and not so much as to make you self-conscious. No judgement.” MotivationAwarenessSelf LoveDespairGiving UpSelf AwarenessDirectionConscious Consciousness Author:Shellen Lubin
“Handle with care. Me. You. All we do. It doesn't mean do everything for anyone or something for everyone but it does mean to do it the most care-fully you are able. I strive for that each moment-- fail miserably much of the time, but still try-- whether work, play loving, writing-- to do it as care-fully as I might-- for myself and those I love, yes, but also for the ripple effects-- the butterfly-wing-flapping effects-- in places unknowable and unknown.” LovePlayCareWorkAwarenessSelf LoveMindfulnessWriteInterconnectednessCarefully Author:Shellen Lubin
“Full of woe means greater depth, greater awareness and empathy. Full of woe means challenges to meet, mountains to climb, finding joy in odd, small places, finding meaning in dark times. And we've certainly got dark times, and many challenges... Wednesday builds resilience so you can walk the miles of Thursday. On to Thursday. We still have far to go.” JoyChallengesAwarenessEmpathyDepthResilienceMeaningKeep GoingMountainsWednesdays Child Author:Shellen Lubin
“Do you see it? Do you get it? Are you clear on What's going on? White women are subjugated (as human beings) even when elevated (as muses and objects of desire). Black men are infantilized intellectually (to diminish power) and aged-up physically (to increase threat). Black women are subjugated, infantilized, and aged-up, expected to selflessly carry everyone else. Immigrants and people of color are supposed to dedicate their lives to the illusion--the lottery-- of the American Dream, by actually feeding the American Machine.” AmericaChangeHistoryProgressAwarenessEvolutionIllusionAmerican DreamJustin Time Author:Shellen Lubin
“The tides are turning. Everybody else is waking up, becoming more awake, aware, seeking knowledge, challenging the assumptions. 'They' call it 'woke' and demean it... 'They' may be--may aspire to be--the authorities, may judge and smirk and wield their swords, but 'everybody else' knows what's really happening. And the forces of change, however resisted, will continue to awaken us all.” FearChangeKnowledgeDestinyPowerAwarenessAuthorityJudgeAssumptionsWaking Up Author:Shellen Lubin
“...anxiety is vilified, underrated, for its value and benefits. Those with anxiety can be more thoughtful about all the possibilities that might play out, more prepared for threatening situations, more empathetic to others' feelings (whether overtly expressed or not).” AwarenessPossibilityBenefitsEmpathyMental HealthThreatValueThoughtfulSelf CareAnxiety Is Underrated Author:Shellen Lubin
“Mind the little things. Appreciate them. Revere them, too.” AttentionAwarenessValueAppreciationLittle ThingsReverenceBig ThingsDetail Author:Shellen Lubin
“If all of us who at some point in history were not considered white considered ourselves "Other" then how many white people would there even be?” HistoryAwarenessDiversityWake UpAwakeDiasporaWaking Up Author:Shellen Lubin
“Awareness is essential but can be brutal as well. How do you hear the music through the desperate voices? How do you immerse yourself in beauty always knowing the knives are out? How? How? Greater awareness. Greater still. Awareness of the choice.” ChoicesBeautyMusicAwarenessDangerChoiceBrutalityListenFoggy Thoughts Author:Shellen Lubin
“They' in conventional wisdom, in much literature (like Edward Lear's limericks), in the mouths of conservative (and faux-conservative) politicians refers to traditional society, those of privilege, those with power, those in control of what is known, thought, believed... But 'everybody else'... knows what's going on.” PoliticsBeliefPowerAwarenessThoughtsPrivilegeConservativeControlConservatismWaking Up Author:Shellen Lubin
“The native population of this continent deserves more notice taken than on Indigenous Peoples Day. But this day at least, please, let's learn more about the people whose land we stole (yes, even we whose forebearers came more recently, because we continue to benefit from the theft), and to sit in the complexity that is the building and continuation of our civilization.” JusticeEducationSocietyAwarenessCivilizationAwakeningComplexityTheftIndigenous Peoples Day Author:Shellen Lubin
“I'm sorry'--like 'I love you'--like many phrases--means more than one thing, even on its surface. So people get confused what they're saying and what they're hearing when the words 'I'm sorry' are spoken... But even when you're clear which kind of 'sorry' is in play, the words of an apology only mean what they are invested with. 'I'm sorry' is the vessel. What's inside the 'sorry' container makes all the difference.” LoveAwarenessCommunicationInvestmentConfusionApologyRemorseSorry For What Author:Shellen Lubin
“Day by day we know it more, feel it more. We are all in this together-- all of us-- the whole world, and if we don't work together we may not have our world much longer.” ResponsibilityAwarenessCrisisConnectionTeamworkSensitivityInterconnectednessEmergencyOn Mourning Author:Shellen Lubin
“If the voices and perspectives we assess ourselves by are stuck in systems of their own they can be another trap. If they're stuck in their own agendas-- their needs and desires-- then they're another "wicked temptation" to sell out our deepest truths to please or pacify someone else. Which is why I advocate multiple mirrors, offering different ways of seeing, of feeling, of processing, angles and views we might otherwise miss, and reminding us to revere just how complex reality is.” RealityDesireAwarenessPerspectiveBetrayalComplexityFeelingVoicesAgendaDifferent View Author:Shellen Lubin
“Witnesses. Help us see how others see. Help us see ourselves from another vantage point, a larger landscape, a different view. Witnesses. Reality checks. Mirrors. Cameras. Other lenses. Different views. They can save us from our worst possible choices or from participating in someone else's.” RealityTruthVisionSupportAwarenessPerspectiveReflectionClarityWitnessDifferent View Author:Shellen Lubin
“Clean slate? No no never. That's not life. Life is beginner mind with a full slate a dirty slate whatever slate you've got, you are, complicated interactions (with related and unrelated history and triggers), unfinished tasks and incomplete projects.” RealityAwarenessAcceptancePerspectiveZenMessOpennessRenewalOne Two Three Author:Shellen Lubin
“...important truths, perspectives, and awarenesses may feel harsh no matter how 'nicely' they are stated, and so, we can't always be nice” ImportantRealityTruthAwarenessHonestyPerspectiveTruthsIs It Nice Author:Shellen Lubin