Stumbling Toward Enlightenment

I've been reading a lot of Gloria Anzaldua lately. Her soul speaks to mine, and I wish I had found her writings when I was a young adult. As it was, I spent late high school and college clinging to writers like Michelle Serros, Richard Rodriguez, and Sandra Cisneros. Today, there are so many writers that are sharing our stories, it's such a beautiful, wondrous thing! They are sharing those stories of borderlands--las fronteras--not just geographical borderlands, although the stories of border towns need to be told--but the cultural border that is the Chicanx experience.  And things are changing! The writers hold that power. Our voices are finally being heard, being valued. This is such an exciting time in our history--we are the children, the grandchildren of that generation that sacrifiiced everything--we are the dream, fully realized. To be able to finally share those stories in book groups, in virtual learning communities, in our friendships, is allowing these stories to unf

I had a thought today that the act of opening--opening our hands and our hearts--allows us to simultaneously accept things as they are, and let go of things as they are.  This has been my experience during this strange 2020, an experience of opening up and becoming vulnerable and fierce at the same time, of standing for what is right and holding others accountable without being viscious. Such a year of dichotomies. In allowing ourselves to be vulnerable, we become strong, and in pushing back against provocations, we reclaim our space.  💥💕