Imagine the world is a giant stage covered by a thick gold curtain. On the front of that stage you see the leaders of different countries and the heads of massive organizations. They wear different flags on their suits and they speak different languages. They point fingers and they yell and they act like they are in a huge struggle for power. They tell you that you have to pick a side and that you have to be angry at the people on the other team. They tell you that their rivals across the ocean are the reason life is so hard for you. They make it look like a life or death fight between two completely different worlds. But if you could walk past those heavy curtains and into the private rooms where the cameras are never allowed you would see that the fighting stops the second the doors close. In those hidden rooms the enemies are not yelling at all. They are sitting at long tables covered in the finest food you can imagine. The leader who was just threatening a war on the evening news is now clinking a crystal glass and laughing with the very person he just called a monster on camera. They are not rivals at all. They are cousins. This is not just a story from a movie. If you look at the family trees of the people in charge of the world you will see the truth for yourself. The kings and the queens and the presidents and the people who run the biggest banks are almost all related to each other. They are not separate leaders from different places who just happened to meet. They are one big and interconnected family that has been in charge for a very long time. They have turned running the world into a private family business that they keep for themselves and their children. The fights they show us on the news are just a play to keep us distracted while they enjoy the feast in private. While the people on the surface struggle and argue over flags this family is living the best life possible. They have the best of everything and they keep the best secrets. They stay in power because they are the ones who own the seating chart. They are the ones who decide who gets to sit at the table and who has to stay outside in the cold. They use the theater of war to make sure we never look at the tunnels and the private paths that physically connect their giant palaces and their banks. They want us to believe they are miles apart when they are actually just a hallway away from each other.

Sharing this for anyone looking for something meaningful to watch today. Adriana White’s TEDx talk, Different Does Not Mean Broken, offers one of the clearest depictions of the late diagnosis experience. She speaks to what it means to be part of the “lost generation” of autism, those who were overlooked by the system, especially women, people of color, and adults identified later in life. If your understanding of yourself came later, or you are still in that process, this one is likely to resonate.

I am a Harry Styles FANATIC!!! Loving his new album and really feel this song is about being spiritually awake. https://open.spotify.com/track/7s7v5EoNLD6TwDu4Nw51Oy?si=WCT_HsgHT2q_w3Y3EbnHcQ

Whooooo loves spiritual and astrology and all things metaphysical? This is one of my rabbit holes.

I’m providing a continuing education workshop on Wednesday for IU. I am planning to upload my PowerPoint and hand outs in wavelength for others to review if they’re interested in learning more about neurodiversity informed assessment for autism. I’m a little anxious given there are over 80 enrollments so far, but I’m grateful to be speaking on such an important topic! Here’s the link if anyone wants to join https://events.iu.edu/socialwork/event/2215568-neurodiversity-informed-care-for-autism-ethical