Most folks it's just too threatening to embrace a definition of love that'd no longer enable us to see love as present in our families. Too many need to cling to a notion of love that either makes abuse acceptable or seem like whatever happened was not that bad. – all about love, bell hooks

An overwhelming majority of us come from dysfunctional families in which we were taught we were not okay, where we were shamed, verbally and/or physically abused, and emotionally neglected even as were also taught to believe that we were loved. – all about love, bell hooks

In an ideal world we would all learn in childhood to love ourselves. We would grow, being secure in our worth and value, spreading love wherever we went, letting our light shine. If we did not learn self-love in our youth, there is still hope. – all about love, bell hooks

Many analysts believe that simply giving all Americans universal basic income, no strings attached, would actually be cheaper. There's no benefit to dividing people into the categories of "worthy" + "unworthy." It feels moral to do so because of our beliefs about shame. - Unlearning Shame

USA "Abandoned NDC target" ...now aims towards massive pollution increases at "Critically Insufficient" levels again. 🇺🇸GOP over 20rs have abdicated leadership on the work, enabling purposeful harm and pollution instead for limited profit gains for the few and powerful and rich🔥 #CarbonActionTracker

Mid-Feb and I’m mowing the lawn in a T-shirt. 👕 WA snowpack is 30-50% below normal, following a trend of warmer winters and record floods. 📈 Prepping for hot + dry summers ahead ☀️🔥 #WAwx #ClimateTrends

To fight poverty and ableism, is to fight racism. To fight racism is to fight economic injustice. We don't have to view our privileges as personal sin - we're all suffering together, in different amounts, and when we address common causes of that suffering, we all stand to gain. - Unlearning Shame

Policy shifts, but physics is non-negotiable. The "better way forward" lives in the "sticky" local innovations we’ve built—from smart grids to resilient cities. Progress isn’t being erased; it’s being decentralized and moves closer to the people now. 🌍⚡️ #PhysicsOfProgress #FutureForward

I just know that one day I was no longer precious. Those who had initially loved me well turned away. The absence of their recognition and regard pierced my heart and left me with a feeling of brokenheartedness so profound I was spellbound. – all about love, bell hooks

The idea that people who receive gov benefits are dishonest leeches originally applied to newly freed slaves, later repackaged and applied to people who received unemployment, disability benefits, + food stamps, the majority today whom are white. Toxic messages hurt everyone. - Unlearning Shame

Life has limits. “Spoons” remind us to honor them—and to recharge. Beautiful. Balanced. Joyful. New spoons in our home thanks to @tigerowlchemy. 🥄 #woodcarvers

We want life to remain as it once was. But fire comes. Though we are afraid, it comes anyway, sometimes by accident, sometimes on purpose, sometimes for reasons no one can understand… –  Dr. Clarissa Pinkola Estés, The Faithful Gardener

When we understand love as the will to nurture our own and another's spiritual growth, it becomes clear that we cannot claim to love if we are hurtful and abusive. – all about love, bell hooks

Communities are just networks of relationships-connections that we must make, and then nourish. We don't get to find it one day and then claim our spot within it. We have to construct it, interaction by interaction, one vulnerable moment at a time. - Unlearning Shame

VI. Coming to terms with our limits is emotionally fraught stuff. It forces us to acknowledge that some problems cannot be entirely mended, at least not right now. - Unlearning Shame

V. What can you trust other people to handle? Keep in mind that most tasks don't actually have to be done perfectly, or exactly the way that you would do them. - Unlearning Shame

IV. Ask yourself whether a deadline actually matters. Will anyone truly be hurt if you take a break, or some time to reflect? - Unlearning Shame

III. Whenever you add an obligation to your life, find another to remove. Your time and energy is already fully accounted for, though some of it might be getting spent on activities you don't actually value. - Unlearning Shame

II. When you feel like you aren't doing enough, resolve to do less. It's an interesting paradox: The more overwhelmed people are with tasks, the less likely they are to feel like they're accomplishing anything. - Unlearning Shame

I. Listen to dread. If certain spaces or activities are always really painful to drag yourself to, that's likely a sign that they aren’t for you. - Unlearning Shame

'It hurts me more than it hurts you.' There is nothing that creates more confusion about love in the minds and hearts of children than unkind and/or cruel punishment metted out by the grown-ups they have been taught they should love and respect". – all about love, bell hooks

What [Pale] People Can Do Next, Instead of viewing allyship as a hard but morally required sacrifice, white people can understand that we also benefit when we dismantle abusive systems of power. - African Studies Professor and activist Emma Dabiri

REPORTS from the FRONT LINE of MINNESOTA Today, Homan is talking about how they're here because of "the violence." So again the story/job description has changed...

Love and abuse cannot coexist. Abuse and neglect are, by definition, the opposites of nurturance and care. – all about love, bell hooks

Indeed, there are no successful mass people’s movements without sincere, dangerous commitment to loving those around you and, thereby, a readiness to sacrifice yourself for their sakes. Jan 11 - Seattle

After being held in two of them as a boy, I fought for decades urging America to never again build concentration camps and put human beings in them. It breaks my heart to watch this happen twice now in my own lifetime.

REWORDING RESISTANCE **Refine this message to be more persuasive and effective, using these rules as guidance (as short and sweet and clever as you can to challenge current policy direction):

1    Remember that people are never the enemy-injustice is. 2    Attack the forces and systems of evil, not the persons doing evil. 3    Seek to “hold people in community” rather than hold them accountable. Healing Resistance – Kazu Haga

We can give ourselves the unconditional love that is the grounding for sustained acceptance and affirmation. When we give this precious gift to ourselves, we are able to reach out to others from a place of fulfillment and not from a place of lack. – all about love, bell hooks

New seed is faithful. It roots deepest in the places that are most empty. C. P. ESTÉS

I feel our nation's turning away from love as intensely as I felt love's abandonment in my girlhood. Turning away we risk moving into a wilderness of spirit so intense we may never find our way home again. – all about love, bell hooks

But how do we actually get vulnerable and heal together, especially when the people we are in community with are the very same ones who've worsened our shame?  - Unlearning Shame

Fear is the primary force upholding structures of domination. It promotes the desire for separation, the desire not to be known. When we're taught that safety lies always with sameness, then difference, of any kind, will appear as a threat....The choice to love is a choice to connect– all about love

The reassuring and grounding sense that you are unbreakably connected to the rest of humanity, and that all sides of you, including your flaws, are part of what keeps you bonded to everybody else – Unlearning Shame

Soothing our Systemic Shame doesn't mean becoming immune to it; rather, it involves learning how to dodge and weave away from the constant psychological blows our culture deals us and finding safe people to run toward and embrace when it feels like we can't stay in the fight. – Unlearning Shame

"the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice" - Martin Luther King Jr.

Uncle gave quiet counsel: "You are mistaken. The Nazis and their helpers were not from Germany. Gyáva népnek nincs hazája. Cowards have no country of their own. Those demons were from hell." - Dr. Clarissa Pinkola Estés, The Faithful Gardener

A life free of social support is impossible and would not be worth living. The impact of others is everywhere. We can't run away from their gifts. And why would we want to? - Unlearning Shame

We’re calling this…”controlling what you can when things feel out of control” – Olaf ❄️

Even in its imperfections, humanity can be LOVED and TRUSTED. Healing from Systemic Shame involves developing a sense of purpose and perspective in life, which will allow us to discern for ourselves what is best for us, even in the face of external judgment. – Unlearning Shame

We can set livable wages. We can limit and share wealth. We can fund our nation + services + safety nets + public schools. We are all capable of this work. 💙 🌲 💚

"The search for love continues even in the face of great odds," was painted in bright colors. – all about love, bell hooks 🖤

A life free of social support is impossible and would not be worth living. The impact of others is everywhere. We can't run away from their gifts. And why would we want to? - Unlearning Shame / Protegerno Unos A Otros

Kirkland packed corners...I was drumming with the band. 🖤💚🌲💙🇺🇲🖤

Sorrow is not as bottomless as it might initially feel...Paradoxically, when we give up the fight and allow ourselves to feel unpleasant emotions that the suffering comes to its natural and eventual end. Unlearning Shame - Better Friends Gold - Renée Staeck

Keeping us "safe" by murdering us in our own streets, with masked gangs of armed bounty hunters, while blocking your own GOP reform bill...is not leadership. It's regime. 🟩🌲🟦

We must let go of society's punishing expectations, allowing ourselves to settle into an easier, more humble existence informed by our real passions and needs. - Unlearning Shame

First Aid for Our Shared Home: Use less. Waste less. Breathe easier. Care for each other—today and for the long term. 💚 🌲 💙 🇺🇲 NCA6 #AR6 #COP30

New Year –New Boundaries 18. “I’m not cold—I’m clear.” (Frozen access, not feelings.) 19. “Let’s not do this again.” (Said once. That’s enough.) 20. “I don’t do reminders. I do distance.” ✨The path to calm begins with small steps 🌿

New Year –New Boundaries 16. “It’s a problem. I won’t repeat the experience.” (One time was enough.) 17. “I forgive you. I just don’t align with you anymore.” (Closure delivered)✨ ✨The path to calm begins with small steps 🌿