The funny thing about my book tour, Cleo Wade began on Friday night in Brooklyn, is that it isn’t about her book (Heart Talk) at all.bRather, Cleo (poet, artist, storyteller), brings people to talk with her who inspired her (and therefore parts of the book) somewhere along the way.
And so, I had the pleasure of meeting Sade Lythcott, CEO of the National Black Theater in Harlem, and drowning in her goodness and depth. Sade describes Cleo’s writing as creating microbridges into our hearts. Isn’t that beautiful?
We talked about so many things on Friday: revolution, forgiveness, honoring our pain, having a spirit of flexibility, vulnerability as a superpower, beauty in acknowledging the power in our stories, self care as a way to digest things that happen to us continually, how joy is activism (I loved that one!), leadership as being radical listeners, and having love affairs with discomfort.
Not too shabby for a rainy Friday night and 100+ women.
But one thing Sade said is staying with me. Whether or not you would describe yourself as part of “the resistance,” you’ve undoubtedly heard the phrase.
“I don’t resist”, Sade strongly said. “I create new paradigms. If I resist, I’m still playing your/their game.”
I’ve proudly been camp resistance since November 9th, 2016. This notion gives me pause. I don’t want to play anyone’s game. And I’m tired of that rhetoric anyway. I want my efforts to be about something so much more. I want to create a new paradigm.
Who’s with me?