Dear one,

How many times have you been told that you need to “narrow your focus” or “be more specific?” 

That you have to “pick a lane” and “specialize in ONE issue?”

My friend, this is my love letter to you. 

To those who refuse to adhere to the rigid confines of one issue - JUST education, JUST climate change, JUST racial justice, JUST public health, JUST supporting refugees…

But what refugee doesn’t need access to healthcare? 

Who is most impacted by climate change? 

How can we eradicate and heal from racism without education? 

You, dear one, understand the need to think beyond the borders of institutional structures. 

You call yourself many names - ecosystem builder, systems thinker, entrepreneur, innovator, consultant, facilitator, coach…

But too many people you meet still ask for a single focus. 

You may doubt yourself in that moment. They are right, you think. I dream too big and I am being silly and unfocused. I should be more specific. 

You attempt to squeeze yourself into their boxes, too tight and too solid to allow the light to pour in or the possibilities to emerge. 

The confines hurt you. They steal your creativity, your hope, and your belief in a better world in exchange for ease with their structures and you do your best to accept that “this is just how it is.” 

But, my friend, do not let this thought win. Do not shrink yourself to fit the existing molds of the world. Do not make yourself small to let others feel greater comfort. 

We are so fortunate that you, exactly as you are, are in this world. 

The lines drawn and limits have not made the progress we need in this world. They simplify, they offer clarity, they help us name…

but they do not offer the wild expanses we need to dream and imagine new solutions, nor the practice of honoring and cultivating the transformation that comes from legacies of those who have been doing this work through oppression for so very long. 

Yes, your vision is big and audacious. You see patterns where others see limits. 

You are not lacking, my friend. You are not wrong. You are not too much. You are not unclear. 

You know for a fact that our collective liberation is bound together, like the quote by Lilla Watson, Murri visual artist, activist, and academic who said,

“If you have come here to help me you are wasting your time, but if you have come because your liberation is bound up with mine, then let us work together.”

You know that too many people in this world of “social impact” want to help, but for this work to succeed, it must be grounded in our collective liberation. 

But you already know that, don’t you?

So, dear one, what does liberation look like for you?

What does it smell like? Taste like? How will you savor it? 

And what do you need in order to claim it? 

May you live fully and shine brightly in your glorious audacity and may your light shine far beyond you as a beacon for others who are confined in these limiting boxes so that they too may break free. 

With love and admiration for you always,

Julia