I’m Here for the Difficult Conversations

“You are not obligated to complete the work, but neither are you free to desist from it.”

– Pirkei Avot (Ethics of our Fathers)

From the beginning, I was taught my responsibility, as a human being, is to work to repair this
broken world we inhabit; to leave things better than we found them.

The driving force behind my career is this wish to repair the world. I do that by listening. I listen and I encourage people to have difficult conversations. This is a strange place to reside, engaging in discussions that most people want to avoid. But that’s where the rubber meets the road. In therapy or coaching, we look into the crevices and chasms to excavate hidden thoughts and feelings. Without attention and scrutiny, those same thoughts and feelings become crystallized assumptions and personal doctrines.

I’ve built my profession around these two actions: listening and helping people engage in difficult conversations. My refrain in my work is:

When we turn towards the fear, to peer into the uncomfortable spaces, that is where growth happens.

As someone who looks at history in order to understand our present, I know it’s critical that we support the change we want to see with action. And as someone with a social media presence, I think it is imperative to voice my support and unity with the #blacklivesmatter movement.

I’m human, which means I’m imperfect, flawed, and messy. But I believe that the right thing for me to do is to use my words and say aloud that I’m aware of my privilege and I’m doing what I can to work towards creating an anti-racist world.

I’m grateful to anyone who chooses to work with me, who is willing to engage in the hard work of coming back to the difficult conversations.

To my readers of color; know that I see you, and I’m here to listen, ask questions, and to work together towards a more perfect world. To my readers who are willing to engage in the work of understanding ourselves and our places in this world, especially in the uncomfortable spaces, I’m here for that as well. We know the world we inhabit is imperfect, but that cannot be our excuse to look away from the abyss. We must work diligently to understand ourselves so that we can create the world we wish we lived in right now.