For the last 20 years, I have been answering (and re-answering) a question that animates so many of us: what is my role in making the world a better place to live?

This is an especially pressing question today for those of us who identify as white and privileged.  So often the world around us suggests that these identities mean we either have all the answers or none at all.  Even though we may intellectually know that our position in society grants us power, we don't necessarily feel powerful, and we often don't feel part of thriving and loving communities.  

The truth is life can be lonely inside the bubble of privilege.

The world can seem overwhelming and social problems intractable.  A longing to feel deeply held in community and purpose is sometimes too big to even name.  Yet, I have seen how opening up space for folks of privilege to voice their anxieties, pains, and worries allows a sense of connection to and stake in dismantling systemic racism and exploitative, extractive capitalism.

I believe we step into our power when we marshal each part of our identity - the parts we've crafted from within, and the parts that are defined by the society around us.  Doing that means getting clear on our unique work to do inside white communities and the bridges we must build across race and class differences. What I have found, and continue to find, is that the strength of our efforts to make the world better - both in terms of tangible impacts and what it feels like to do this work - is inextricably tied to the depth of our inner clarity.  And, it's when we risk sharing our vulnerabilities with others, our worries and our hopes, that deep relationships and powerful communities are built. 

I live this work - not only in my professional life, but in my personal life as well.