July 4: What Does Freedom Feel Like In Your Body?

Context:

This week, many in the U.S. will be lighting fireworks in celebration of "freedom." But for others -- especially Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) -- that freedom has never been full, safe, or evenly shared.

This week's reflection invites us to honor not just the myth of liberty, but the labor, sacrifice and ongoing resilience of BIPOC communities who have helped to shape, nourish, and resist over centuries in this country.

We honor writers like US Poet Laureate Joy Harjo and others like Lucille Clifton, James Baldwin, Audre Lorde, Ada Limon, and Martin Espada. Writers whose words remind us that freedom is not given, but cultivated and reclaimed.

We honor ancestors who lived through injustice with both rage and grace. Ancestors who survived and thrived in their journey to "freedom." We honor community gardens, protest songs, polylingual classrooms, and intergenerational healing.

Writing Prompt:

What does freedom feel like --not as a political idea, but as something personal, emotional, and embodied? Where does it show up in your lie? And what still fells "unfree?"

Some ideas to explore:

• A moment when you felt truly safe and seen

• A memory of someone in your family or life who endured and resisted

• A ritual that brings you back to yourself when the world feels unwelcoming

• How you can carry joy despite everything

Ritual: A Prayer for the Future We're Still Building

This week, light a candle in the name of someone whose freedom cost them everything. Say their name if you know it. Sit with the truth if you don't.

Then, write a note to your future self, a child, or to the world. Imagine what collective freedom could look like. Fold it. Bury it in your garden or place it under a stone or on your altar.

Let it be a seed.

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Bonus Reading and Listening:

Poem: "won't you celebrate with me" by Lucille Clifton

Essay: "The Uses of Anger" by Audre Lorde

Song: "A Change is Gonna Come" by Sam Cooke