Witness and Pride

“People who have lived in shame and isolation need all the pride we can muster, not to mire ourselves in a narrowly defined identity politics, but to sustain broad-based rebellion. And likewise, we need a witness to all our histories, both collective and personal. Yet we also need to remember that witness and pride are not the same. Witness pairs grief and rage with remembrance. Pride pairs joy with a determination to be visible. Witness demands primary adherence to and with history. Pride uses history as one of its many tools. Sometimes witness and pride work in concert, other times not. We cannot afford to confuse, merge, blur the two.” -Eli Clare

How have you experienced pride and witness supporting one another?

Shared Awakening

To bear witness is to be with that person or situation so completely, it is as if you are the person or situation. Perfect empathy. It is also to behold the truth. I have experienced this with people I have taken with me on journeys into the deep. I could share in their moments of awakening.  -Michael R., a CLF member incarcerated in California

When have you experienced a shared moment of awakening with another person?

Witness of Ancestors

“Walking, I am listening to a deeper way. Suddenly all my ancestors are behind me. Be still, they say. Watch and listen. You are the result of the love of thousands.” -Linda Hogan, from Dwellings: A Spiritual History of the Living World

What are the ancestors witnessing you right now telling you?

Lessons

“In every person we meet, especially those who cause us discomfort, we find an opportunity for us to grow, to learn, to go further along the path of transformation that is our purpose in life. Every single one is our teacher. May [life] bring you many such moments of meeting that help you become the person you want to be, and may you welcome them with joy.” -Amy Zucker Morgenstern

How have you learned from an unexpected teacher?