Reading. Listening. Opening my mind to your perspective, of which I do not understand because of our different life experiences. Contemplating whether it’s possible that every person’s feelings matter, as long as those feelings don’t lead to actions that imprison, subjugate, discriminate or isolate others. Since I only more recently joined this fight, building my activist muscle takes bursts of inspired action, brief rest, then longer burst of action until I have the capacity for sustained allyship. Acknowledging I don’t really know how to do this, but it’s important now more than ever and it’s no longer a choice but a mandate. Being authentic that this continued criticism both hurts when I try so hard and it’s true, at the same time. Wondering if every single person, regardless of ethnicity, automatically centers themselves and their needs, because at the core we are animals, trying to survive? How do we rise above our base instincts?