Before I get all wordsy on you and in case you don't have the bandwidth to read more than what you need to join Liberation is Local, here's the most important information first:
Liberation is Local is now on Wednesdays and Sundays! Since Wednesdays are virtual, people outside of Northern Colorado can participate.
Even though LIL has been going on for about eight months, the current process is new and still developing, and I'm learning as I try new things. So communication might be clunky, tech might be weird, and I may stumble here and there. But that's okay!
I share updates, zoom links, pages, and more through my buymeacoffee email list. There are several ways to get on that list: "follow" by right-clicking on my photo from my homepage (the quick and free option!); buy me a coffee (cute! thank you!); become a monthly supporting member (super wonderful!); download anything from my shop (can also be free!). Choose your own adventure - any path is much appreciated by yours truly :)
Check out the adorably informative page I made about Liberation is Local below!
Now for lots of words because I'm in the mood for writing.
Over the past many months, I have been quick to describe my surprise at just how nourishing and supportive the Liberation is Local space has been, including for my own thinking and practices.
When I set out to start this lovely little container, I was simply following the wisdom that told me, "Create what you know you need." There is something unique and powerful about engaging in reflective dialogues with others on a consistent basis, and I longed for deep conversation that would continue to move and shift my own understanding about what liberation looks and feels like. Since I've been strategically prioritizing deep local impact over the past several years, it makes sense that all of this would center on learning with others in my own local community (not to mention that the physical space where we meet, which helps make all of this possible, is a generous and vital local community anchor in its own right).
The format was pretty straightforward. Each week, we would discuss a different aspect of liberation, and my thoughts would evolve to mirror the increasing depth of my understanding of various liberatory ideas, values, concepts, practices, and possibilities. By late summer, repetitious threads were already clarifying and strengthening the significance of commonly-discussed themes like abundance, emergence, support, and community. By December, we had discussed just shy of thirty different facets of liberation. We decided to take the rest of the Sundays "off," but people still wanted to gather together. So, leading up to 2025, we ended up casually talking, reading, crafting, and connecting. Several new people dropped in during those weeks, which was lovely, too.
In the meantime, over the course of those eight months, what happened within and among us - and in our respective personal and professional lives - has also been pretty special. Others have shared really poignant glimpses into what the space has meant to them as a place to anchor, build courage, keep learning in ways that are hard to find outside of education, and reintroduce oneself to others in their full authenticity (a remarkable example of becoming more free every day). I have many of my own appreciations about what feels changed and different for me, too.
For instance, I've recently been reflecting on how it wildly different it feels to meet new people on the premise of shared values and shared commitments to community and collective liberation. People just show up for and with one another differently—with thoughtfulness, generosity, and care. Connection comes easily. Some things get taken for granted—like that it's more than okay to speak openly about grief and rage over genocide and white supremacy because we all feel the weight of the world and navigate those realities, too; and that it's more than okay to be your full and present self, to name your needs, and honor what feels doable for you. Even when the conversations lean more imaginative and philosophical, this group still brings vulnerability, sensitivity, and real feelings. Of course, when we consistently connect to learn more about liberation together, we inevitably end up learning more about each other, too. It’s just one of many ways to build community, and it is where relationships have found new ground to flourish.
Even though we were only scheduled to meet for an hour, it was not uncommon for some of us to stay for an extra hour or more. In these after-conversations, people have connected over relationships and friendships that have started and ended. Some shared about graduations, new jobs, and evolving family dynamics. For a few weeks, everyone heard too much excitement from me about my favorite musical artist coming to town. We've gotten into exchanges about faith and religious backgrounds, and we’ve processed how to manage difficult interpersonal dynamics in personal and professional spaces. What I had not planned for was that by the end of the year, some of us would even end up soberly dancing in empty bars together on a random Thursday, singing karaoke at the top of our lungs, and entertaining more ways to build community outside of the Liberation is Local gatherings. But, of course, in the spirit of being who we want to be with others in the world we want to create, all of that tracks, too.
In very overt ways, Liberation is Local has influenced my own work, the content I create, and how I’ve been leaning into new ways to share those projects. My commitment to show up each week by putting ideas on paper and facilitating a space and open-ended process for others has helped me practice finding words and ways to communicate what is always swirling around inside of me. Like flowing water that eventually runs through a ravine of its own making, that alone has carved a much clearer path that marks the direction I’m already moving in. This has helped inform how I approach work opportunities as new openings to continue my own professional, political, personal, and philosophical transformations. My goals are still clear: to stay responsive to the conditions we live in, to keep refining how I help others understand what liberation looks and feels like, and to practice it more and more each day.
Last fall, in preparation for an opportunity to speak with a group of Colorado educators concerned about how to dialogue around the upcoming presidential election, I had numerous conversations with someone on the planning committee. These ultimately landed us in my new favorite place where I say, “I have an idea for how to approach this that is not what most people would expect. Are you open to me presenting something unique in a different way?” We shifted from a keynote format with Q&A to a three-hour workshop, and I created, “Everything is Political: Building Community and Capacity for Liberatory Change.” This became one of my favorite engagements in a long time, and apparently, the way I presented it resonated with those in attendance, too. It led to two more opportunities, so I approached them with the same energy.
As I become more comfortable using language to describe and demonstrate what liberation looks and feels like, I am increasingly more convinced that liberation is possible when (and because) we choose to make it so. Collective liberation depends on enough of us choosing accordingly, which means it’s a matter of individual agency, too. “Abundance in a World on Fire: The Power of Radical Responsibility Within Us” is a fervent elaboration on many themes I’ve shared with groups over the past five years. But this workshop is more focused, clear, and it comes with its own playlist.
Finally, I turned a simple ask to lead a group of staff through a week of unknowns by hosting short, daily mindfulness spaces into a much more substantial project that I could share with even more people beyond those five days. What could have been deep breaths through guided mediations over Zoom became a five-page packet of the some of the most powerful wisdom I’ve learned over the years. It felt good to create something that, again, helped me put my own learning into words on paper. And it felt even better to make that available to anyone for free. You can download “Reflections for Moving Through: Messages and Reminders for Staying Grounded as the World Changes (and You Do, Too!)” as a pdf from my shop at any time. Keep it with you. Share with others. The world seems to only be picking up its pace of rapid change. May we all find ourselves and each other in it with a degree of grace and effectiveness to match.
I’m not sure how Liberation is Local will evolve over the months ahead, but I’m already grateful for this process and know I want to stay in it. I’ve learned so much thus far that I’m committed to staying open to however it shifts and changes, however the people involved want to contribute their gifts and perspectives, and however we learn and grow in the process by showing up and being with each other in it. If this sounds like something you know you need, too, you’re welcome to join the journey whenever you’re ready.