I often feel dismayed by the state of the world and too small to do anything about any of our larger problems.

It's a weird combination of angry and overwhelmed and exhausted and determined to DO SOMETHING without knowing WHAT to do and sometimes it causes me to spiral a bit.

I STOP the spiral and I STOP feeling so small when I focus on doing what I CAN do - using the unique gifts that I have, to do my part, to make the world better.

But where is the line between using my privilege to stay in a bubble of positivity to avoid looking at the brokenness of the world, and getting so lost is how the brokenness of the world breaks my heart, that I end up unable to do anything?

Intersectionality is key to building a better world, while we build our own dreams.

"Using your creative gifts to offer something helpful to the world" is the MOST common dream people have who work with me.

This looks like a lot of different things - books published, coaching programs developed, non-profits created, bodies of work painted... but at the core it's this same thing, of using your unique gifts to help shine a light.

While we are using our gifts to help others - we HAVE TO be seeing from beyond our own perspectives and privileges.

Otherwise, the things we create with our dreams only help reinforce the systems of oppression that we live in.

We can see this in what happened with the "make money online" world.

In 2009 this was an open, level playing field where anyone with great ideas to share was suddenly given a platform. It was the democratization of media and it had the potential to change everything.

Today? It's this weird late stage capitalist influencer culture where lots of great ideas are buried while really stupid things get elevated. Just like the old media.

We re-created all of the old problems in this new playing field.

Which is why, for me, as a white person, it's been important to be really deeply LEARNING what white supremacy is and all the forms of systemic injustice it creates. And how that intersects with other forms of systemic injustice.

Because until I can see it, I am re-creating it in whatever I create.

That's why I talk about it so much.

We are unknowingly hooked in to the myriad of oppressive systems that we live inside of, and we drag them with us everywhere we go until we learn to see them for what they are.

Following your creative dream is about getting FREE.

The work of dreaming IS getting free of the things, inside and outside of you, that hold you back, so that you can BE who you really ARE and CREATE what you are here to CREATE.

You can't actually get FREE of things that you are unconsciously hooked into, without learning to see the hooks.

This has been a theme in my recent blog posts: everything you avoid weakens you, everything you face strengthens you. As long as you're using spiritual bypass as a tool, you are building your dreams on shaky ground.

We need to walk that line, to be present with the world as it is while we hold the vision for a better future.

Your creativity has purpose.

Your dreams have purpose.

We can build a better world.

Still, some days, when I look all of the problems in the world - this work I am doing feels VERY small.

But then I think about each time a member of Dream Book has published a work of art or book or created a coaching program that has helped seed new ideas into our culture to shift consciousness.

And I think about how each person who is actively doing this work of GROWING into their dream and ALIGNING with their inner truth impacts the people around them.

Honestly, it still feels small, in light of everything in the world.

But it feels IMPORTANT.

It feels like me doing my part.