Fuck Around and Find Out
as a liberatory practice
Leanneisalive is a weekly reflection on embodied liberation and unleashing aliveness in a world of oppression. Sometimes it’s a rallying call, sometimes it’s a teach-in, sometimes life is life’ing and I don’t post that week. But I’m always glad you’re here. 👋🏾💗
Liberatory Biomimicry - my embodied liberation practice - is an experiment. You have to fuck around to find out. Curious how it will go to be honest with someone? Fuck around and find out. Curious what will happen if you set a new boundary? You’ll have to fuck around to find out.
Liberation is not a mental-only practice.
You cannot think your way out of oppression. You have to act. This will feel scary in some moments. That’s normal. Parts of us remember how external authorities can and will punish us for our dignity. We may not feel that we have enough resources to take a risk. What if it goes badly and we lose the little we have? The answer is you’ll have to fuck around to find out.
The key is to remember these three things:
Be open to life working out better than your worst fears.
It’s true. It could go as bad as you can imagine. But it also could go better than that! The truth is you don’t know yet. If you’re thinking, “I definitely know how it’s gonna go, and it’s gonna be bad!” Then it sounds like this is not a risk you are willing to take. So don’t take it! Just notice the moments when 99% of you (who’s triggered) thinks it’s gonna go really bad but 1% of you (a deeper wiser part) knows it’s probably gonna be okay. In those moments, take the risk and let that wise 1% prove itself to you. If you never let your wiser parts make decisions, you’ll never get the new information your wiser parts want to gift you. In any moment fear insists it’s gonna go horribly, ask yourself, “Am I willing to be wrong?” If your wiser parts answer, “Yes,” then fuck around and find out. Hopefully you’ll be wrong!
Move outside your comfort zone, but only take the risks you’re willing to take.
Start small. Start with whatever risks you’re willing to take. Later on, you can take bigger risks as you build discernment and build trust in your aliveness. But, take all the risks are willing to take now. The only way to build your discernment is through action. You’ll try something new. You’ll see how it goes. You’ll be transformed by AWARENESS.
You’ll use your new awareness to take even more skillful action in the future; you’ll use your improved discernment. If you know that being fully honest with your boss will get you fired and you don’t feel ready to get fired, then you can choose to be discerning about what you tell him. If you know that leaving your abusive partner today is too risky, then you can choose to make brave plans for later. You get to use your wisdom to take the risks you think are worth it.
Ask for more help than is comfortable
If you wanna get free, you will have to ask for more help than you can even imagine. Start practicing now. Assess: what is the maximum amount of help you could stand to ask for, and ask for it. You can ask for emotional help. You can ask for financial help. You can ask for help brainstorming help. You can ask for help from people you don’t even know. You can ask for help from animals, plants, and “inanimate” objects. Colonized people don’t think that animals, plants, and inanimate objects can help, but colonized people are trapped in oppression! What the f*ck do they know!?? Let yourself think creatively about what kind of help you want and where that help could come from. Then open your heart, be brave, and ask.
I’m currently asking for help inviting people to my first in-person workshop (in forever!) on June 22! Will you help me invite people?? It is my greatest joy to teach people how to escape the convoluted, confusing, and terrifying systems of oppression we experience. You can share
or this email
