A little background: In 2017, when Canada turned 150, I read an article that said Indigenous leaders were asking all Canadians to read Unsettling Canada by Arthur Manuel. So I bought it, but it took me a while to read through it. It's a heavy book, detailing Canadian history from an Indigenous perspective.
(The Reconciliation Manifesto: Recovering the land, rebuilding the economy, also by Arthur Manual came out later and is a much easier read and a great place to start)
While I had always understood that genocide had happened in Canada, this book completely changed my perspective.
I saw that the genocide isn't in the past, it's in the present and will be in the future - unless we do something to change it.
So since then I haven’t felt great about celebrating Canada Day.
So many people in the Live Your Best Life Industry avoid politics because it’s “too negative” but I disagree.
I think ignoring the injustices that happen around you just because they're not happening TO you is negative.
I think showing up for the world you want to live in is EXTREMELY positive. So I’ve been to a LOT of protests and rallies this year.
I always leave these rallies feeling more hopeful, like a healing had happened. Yes - lots more healing is needed, but each time people gather in this way, a healing DOES happen.
When people come together to stand for the world they want to create and make signs and block traffic and scream their truth in unison - THIS is a manifestation practice.
There is so much magic and power in this.
This is what’s missing from the Life Your Best Life Industry - the MAGIC and POWER of looking the hard stuff in the eye while fighting for what you want to create.
You can’t just hold the vision and meditate and wait for it to come.
You don’t dream in a vacuum.
You dream in the world.
This means: You need to be present where you are in order to get to where you want to be.
This is how I have ALWAYS taught creative people how to “manifest” their wildest dreams - by facing the hard parts head on and using them as fuel for healing and growth.
Right now, for me, being present where I am means I am birthing my dreams living in a country that is carrying on an ongoing genocide against the people whose land this is.
And yes I could use the white privilege I have to ignore what’s happening and “not get political” (which IS VERY political, btw) and just focus on my life and my dreams. But this path is becoming narrower and narrower for the people who choose to take it because there is just *SO MUCH* that you need to AVOID and IGNORE in order to stay on this path.
And everything you need to avoid and ignore holds power over you. Your world just gets smaller and smaller... which means your dreams will also shrink.
But everything you face head on GROWS YOU.
Related: we are all connected.
Even though white people in Canada benefit from colonialism in very concrete ways, it’s NOT good for ANY human being to live in an oppressive system.
Your dreams are always calling you towards your TRUE self, your TRUE potential, your TRUE and MOST AUTHENTIC way of living.
This includes NOT living in oppressive systems.
We are all connected. Our dreams are all connected. Our dreams need each other. We need each other.
Part of the work of tending to your dreams is tending to the soil in which they grow.
I dream of a Canada which is fully decolonized. I believe this is the best way to create a country that works for everyone. I believe that in a country that protects the earth and the most vulnerable people there is space for EVERYONE to pursue their dreams.
I know a lot of white settler Canadians are with me in spirit but are like “ummm buttt uhhhhh … like what would I even DO??” when it comes to taking action.
The good news is that you don’t need to know!! In fact, it’s better to let Indigenous leaders lead on this one 😉
I read that one book, and then started following Indigenous leaders closely on social media and then started participating when they put out calls to action and donating money and volunteering for a political campaign to elect an Indigenous woman to my federal riding and with each new step I took I learned more.
It’s like with your dreams - you DO NOT have to know how to get there in order to take a single baby step.
And each little teeny tiny step you take helps equip you to take the next step.
The next thing you know - you're out there actively helping to create a BETTER world for you and your dreams and also for everyone else.
It's all SO connected.
I'm sharing my thoughts here today as tomorrow is Canada Day.
I know most of you are not Canadian.
But ALL of us have the opportunity to stand up for the world we want to create.
