Bringing Love into 2023

Make it stand out

2023, a Year to learn and grow…

It’s hard to believe that 2022 is almost over. It still feels like it is part of the never-ending year of 2020 while also it was a year where life seems to have gotten back to some form of "normal," all while many tough and heavy things have happened in the world, our country, and our communities, not to mention our personal lives. 

Let us take a moment to pause and honor the lives we all lost and the evils we have witnessed from the war in Ukraine, COVID death, mass shootings across our nation, refugees at our border dying to the elements, and many other tragedies. All sacred lives that have been taken too soon!

Many things around us seem uncontrollable and out of control. Our heated and divisive political landscape has pulled people apart in massive ways, and it only seems to be getting worse. I bring this issue up specifically because my work as an independent photojournalist has me embedded in these “political” spaces a lot of the time. This year, most of my work centered specifically around the issues of our southern border. 

How do we move into the new year combatting these never-ending black holes we find ourselves in as we scroll through social media? How do we bring a little more love and compassion into 2023? So that instead of attacking, arguing, or accusing when we get bombarded with these headlines and "breaking news" stories, instead, we stop and listen, process and breath, and move forward with compassion and more profound love and fight for humanity? It's not an easy task, that's for sure. It can be hard work, especially if it's something we rarely have practiced. But it is needed, life-changing, and powerful. It takes intentionality and a willingness to be uncomfortable and even wrong. So, how and where do we start?

Well, I don't have the answers, and what I do have is only part of the answer, BUT that's the point! As I travel, I see more and more parts, nuances, and aspects of the country and invest time and energy into space, like the border, protests, and other movements across the country. I am constantly reminded that issues and movements are always more complex and layered than what we are told or see in the news. The one straightforward thing is that dignity for all people is needed and the stories you see affect real humans directly and indirectly.

This humanity and decency are important issues at the border that I constantly try to convey and fight for. The border is very complex and continuously changing while being used for political talking points and shared through the lens of spreading fear, lies, and the dehumanization of people, all for political gain and control. My 6+ months of direct work at the border and over the years have taught me much, and many of the things I’ve heard from people, politicians, and news outlets are either half-truths or holistically false. Much of the information about the borderlands comes from people who have yet to invest much time along the borders. Because of this, misinformation thrives. 

As I was interviewing someone that works to protect and restore wildlife areas along the border and who has lived there most of his life, he stated, "When people come here or when I talk to people about the border. I always ask, ‘So, what one word would you use to describe the border’”…He went on to state that the answers were in two categories that coincided with 1 of 2 specific groups of people: Those who have never been to the border and those who live/work at the border. For those that never been or just got there, the answers were normally something like "dangerous, drugs, scary, unknown, wild, cartel, etc.," and for those that have spent time along the border, would say things like: "home, beautiful, complex, amazing, diverse." When I ask the question, "how do we humanize the border?" or "how can people help?" every time, it includes something about "come see for yourself, come serve, see the truth with your eyes." 

We are all guilty of quickly jumping to conclusions about things we’ve never spent time seeing for ourselves. We gravitate towards the things that defend/support our worldviews because it makes us feel safe and justified. We then often attack and condemn ideas or viewpoints because they can be uncomfortable, hard to swallow, awkward, complicated, and so on. In reality, our worldview is skewed and limited by our experiences and the communities we associate with. To have a more well-rounded worldview, hearing the perspectives of others is absolutely invaluable. 

When you see a story on the news, when a coworker or parent tells you something, or when you think a particular way about an issue, event, or people group, ask yourself: "What has and hasn't influenced this thought, fear, assumption? What do my communities and spheres of influence look like? Does everyone I'm in community with look, think, believe, live as I do?" If so, how much of the fuller picture do you think you are missing out on? The world is BIG! Just the state you live in is full of people with different experiences and worldviews. How can we believe that our worldview, from our life, will give us the whole picture?!

We have so much to gain and learn from the people in the world around us. We benefit, grow, and heal when we invite people to the table and listen to others and their lived experiences. Just like we wouldn't expect a small pig farmer from Wisconsin to understand what life is like in Houston, Texas, for a taxi driver or a public school teacher in Palm Springs, CA, to understand and know what life is like for a cook in Chicago. The same goes for more profound pressing issues of race, equality, injustice, discrimination, and things like immigration/refugees, racism, or police brutality. We gain nothing when we write off the stories and experiences of those who think, vote or look different than us. They have lived a completely different life than you and have seen, known, and experienced things you will never experience.

 We all add to each other. It takes us stopping, listening and, most importantly, being willing to grow. There are certain nuances in having these conversations, but that shouldn't stop us from engaging. It should push us deeper into the mess until we know the truth. 

*sidenote* Hearing the stories, experiences, and perspectives of others is a privilege, not something anyone is entitled to. Whether it’s because of past traumas, because the relationship has yet to grow, the trust needed for the other person to feel comfortable sharing, or other reasons, know that others may be unwilling to share their perspectives. 

Build relationships with people, listen when they do share, take their ideas in and resist the temptation to immediately respond argumentatively. In the meantime, the internet is also FULL of recourse, books, films, and poems to help you on the journey. 

Another connection is when you hear a story, read an article, or your sibling shares something. What does it do to you? What is it calling you to, asking of you? If it is demonizing someone, dehumanizing them, or spreading fear, hate, or anger in you, then you need to stop and remember that we are ALL sacred beings. We can disagree with others (and should at times)... If what we find ourselves listening to pushes us to be against another, to hate, to fight, then we need to readjust how and what we are taking in and letting it sit in our brains. We also need to ask questions about the people spreading this: "what is their (or my own) worldview? How has it been impacted or not impacted by their (my own)experiences and that of others?”

IN CONCLUSION:

Make 2023 a year of healing. Let’s make it filled with a bit more love. Let's take the time to listen to others that think differently, look different, and have had different lived experiences. 

What and who have you been shaped by in 2022? Are you only finding and listening to people with the same lived experiences and world views? Are you listening to voices that reinforce what you already believe? Are you letting agents of fear control you from growing and living with compassion and hope? 

*If so, why do you find yourself leaning into those patterns and spaces? Ask the questions and sit with it as long as it's needed. There is no wrong answer; remember that. We all need to self-reflect on these things periodically.*

OR 

Are you branching out, learning from others who have experienced places, events, and movements that you haven't? Are you going and seeing for yourself? Even if it's in spaces that make you uncomfortable, you don't believe in or fear? Are you reminding yourself that at the end of the day, we are ALL sacred humans that deserve love, dignity, hope, and at the very least fundamental human rights? If your news sources and communities aren't promoting that, you need to change what and how you get your news and find ways to bring these things into your communities, or if it's unsafe for you. Find new communities. 

LISTEN. LEARN. GROW. PASS IT ON