Self-care

“Caring for myself is not self-indulgence, it is self-preservation, and that is an act of political warfare.” - Audre Lorde.

The practice of taking an active role in protecting one's own well-being and happiness, not just during periods of stress but as a daily practice. As we explore how we’ve internalized our racial experiences, work to speak truth to power and dismantle inequities we have to prioritize or mental, spiritual, physical and community health.

Self-awareness

“It is not our difference that divides us. It is our inability to recognize, accept and celebrate those differences.” - Audre Lorde

Self-awareness is defined as the state of being awake and aware of our internal and external settings. It is not an achievement that can be placed on the shelf but takes active intention and ongoing effort to hold this state. When it comes to developing and holding consciousness in groups quite often we look to “the other” to educate us and that in and of itself conflicts with our values for relationships and change.

Growth Mindset

“Great works are performed, not by strength, but by perseverance.” - Samuel Johnson

The ability to view and leverage challenges and setbacks as steps towards continuous improvement and achievements. Being adaptive in your actions and beliefs.

Compassion

“Our human compassion binds us to one another – not in pity or patronizingly, but as human beings who have learnt how to turn our common suffering into hope for the future.” - Nelson Mandela

The ability to feel for and take up the perspective of another and, most importantly, the desire to help. Not to be confused with empathy, which lacks the desire to being an ally or accomplice in doing something about it.

Quite often the gaps in our compassion or lack of compassion is where we find our implicit bias, our pain, old stories and (mal)adapted coping mechanisms.

Relationships

The ways in which things, concepts and people are connected and the compounding effects. These relationships, person by person, are often categorized by how much we are willing to invest and/or lose. Relationships that align with our values and goals typically rank high on the “investing and willing to lose for” list while things or people that conflict with our values, worldview or current capacity to struggle rank low.

Equity

Equity is having shared power and benefits of being a part of something. To create equity is to create and hold interventions that disrupt the way a situation is currently setup that results in a group being disadvantaged, oppressed and/or harmed.

• “You cannot change any society unless you take responsibility for it, unless you see yourself as belonging to it and responsible for changing it.” - Grace Lee Boggs