My creation from today's group: this lifelong journey to understand who I am (who we each are) underneath/without the trauma. As we talked about it, I could see/it felt like being cemented behind a wall and slowly chipping always to uncover myself/ourselves.

(From the Ojibwe People’s Dictionary https://ojibwe.lib.umn.edu/main-entry/miinidiwag-vai) Hi everyone. I have a dear friend couple who live nearby in Boston outer metro, whom I love as family. Gretchen is a horse woman and landscape gardener who looks after my dog when I travel (usu several weeks per year). Her husband Liam is a professional painter and carpenter who would be here in a minute if I needed anything. They are always the first people I list as emergency contacts for my child. They are both small business owners who support themselves through their skills at making the world more beautiful, kind, friendly and functional. One of the ways I look after them is to ask Liam to help me with projects around the house during the winter slow season. Gretchen recently asked if I need anything done, and I said yes, because I know she wouldn’t ask if Liam didn’t need the work. I have already committed to several days work (and zhooniya $) for Liam, but my reality is that I don’t have capacity or real project needs right now. So I want to offer to our community. Does anyone in the area need indoor painting or carpentry done by a skilled craftsman? Some examples of work Liam has done for us: lots of indoor painting (choose your colors at Sherwin Williams), built-in bookcases and shelving, removed carpet and refinished basement stairs, installed bathroom ventilation fan, built and installed coat hook racks, built a shelf and hook system for kitchen pans and lids, moved heavy furniture, and installed a medicine cabinet. During the pandemic, he single-handedly re-shingled our entire house, including structural repair when he found hidden damage. I have already committed the dollars to gift to Liam for several days work. Do you have project needs to also gift? There would be no financial cost to you. Just the awareness that you are helping friends and community by providing an opportunity for this dear man to work from his heart and provide for his family. (If you want to contribute a $ tip when the project is done, I’m sure it would not go unappreciated.)

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DU5_HQhjhgB/?igsh=d3hvYno3N2sxNXVz As I learn more and more about our real history, I see the patterns repeating. Over and over a small group highlight the violent impact of economic disparity, and the majority don’t choose to embody their boundaries and be courageous by demanding more for their lives bc it’s unfamiliar to their nervous system. We’re back here again. What ways are you choosing to meet this moment? What concrete steps are you taking to make your life more aligned to who you are?