How We Show Up Matters

Sat, 06 Jun 2020 08:53:52 -0700

Whether you've been in the struggle for years or are just waking up to the injustices built into our society; we have likely all been deeply affected by what is going on in Minneapolis and in cities around the country. While the weight and trauma of the continued violence against Black lives disproportionately affects our Black brothers and sisters, the pain reverberates and is felt by all.

This is the time to live our values out loud...

There are many ways to live our values. We can march. We can care for children so that others can march. We can organize. We can write. We can read. We can sing. We can donate. We can lead. We can follow. We can pray. We can listen. But we must act, for inaction is a form of action.

Some of the ways I am showing up...

I am checking in with my Black friends and family without any expectation of a response. I do this because I recognize that what is happening right now (and has been happening for generations) is horrendous, unacceptable, and likely impacting them more profoundly than I will ever understand. And because I love them.

I am talking to my 19-month-old multiracial daughter about the pain and suffering our country is experiencing. I do this because she will inherit this world, and she deserves to know the truth about our fight for the dream.

I am purposefully engaging my social class and light-skinned privilege by donating money, time, food, and first-aid supplies to Black-led organizations supporting the communities most impacted. I do this because I...Read More

May You Be Open to the Abundance of Opportunities that Arise Before You

Tue, 05 May 2020 08:10:44 -0700

To the Class of 2020,

It's early May. Trees are budding, flowers are beginning to bloom, bees are buzzing. The cold air of lingering winter has finally blown through and I've felt the warmth of the sun upon my face for the first time in months. The air smells fresh, sweet, and full of potential. Spring is such a fitting season for graduation. As the sun sets on one era – the chill of winter and the challenges of school – another rises just beyond the horizon.

I imagine many graduates are wondering, what's next? Perhaps mourning the loss of ritual, disheartened by the virtual ceremonies meant to ease the disappointment of cancelled commencements. Perhaps worriedly wondering what lay ahead; not only as graduates unsure of what life holds next, but as people searching for purpose and a plan amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.

Graduation is always a time of uncertainty; a time of change and growth. And this year is no exception. However, perhaps more than other graduating classes, because of COVID, the graduates of 2020 may be feeling a heightened sense of fear informed by scarcity (scarcity of jobs, answers, toilet paper). Yet, every season that comes to an end signals the start of something new. And so, instead of staying steeped in scarcity, may you be open to the abundance of opportunities that arise in this time of transition. It may not be easy, it may not feel fair, and you are more than prepared.

You have everything you need to see the uncertainty of this time, to name the fear of the unknown, and rather than run away from or be consumed by it, I invite you to lean in and harness it.

The comforts of what was familiar have been disrupted. While there is importance in tending to the grief of that loss, there is also immense opportunity in expansively and imaginatively creating something new. This new season – the...Read More

Dr. Aeriel A. Ashlee

How We Show Up Matters

This is the time to live our values out loud...

Some of the ways I am showing up...

May You Be Open to the Abundance of Opportunities that Arise Before You