Raphael Renter; Unsplash
About midway through an episode of the podcast Unlocking Us, host Brené Brown and guest Austin Channing Brown, a racial justice activist, discuss the defense mechanisms that come up for each of us when we begin to examine injustice. One of those ways is by telling ourselves some version of “but I’m a good person” to push back the shame that comes up when we realize we’ve caused harm or come to understand our role in a harmful system.
While Brown discusses the importance of holding both truths together – that one can be a good person and also be a part of harm – Channing Brown adds, “You know what’s also true Brené? You may be a good person, but you can be a better one.”
The simple truth of that is stunning: I can be better than I am right now. As they then discuss together, the clarity and relatability of that truth is a far more effective way to push back on shame. It becomes inspiring, a call to action: if there is room for me to grow, to get better at being better, then the next step is to just keep doing it.
This time of the Jewish year is ripe for this kind of continued work on the self. We are heading towards Shavuot, the holiday of revelation, of receiving wisdom. The main ritual of Shavuot is called a tikkun, which means repair. In this case, it refers to a ritual of all-night study. If you look at many contemporary tikkun offerings, you’ll see examples of how study can be a step towards repair, how we practice becoming better, both as individuals and a community. You’ll see classes and speakers and group learning on how we can more fully live out our values, what might be holding us back, how our tradition must continue to evolve.
There are so many ways to do the work—the important thing is just to do it. The tikkun must be ongoing—there is so much to repair.
Later in the Unlocking Us episode, Channing Brown offers this framework: “The work of anti-racism is becoming a better human to other humans.” I hope that all of us can keep on committing to the revelation of that essential work. And I hope this month’s resources, as usual, offer new tools to support and further those efforts.
— Sarra Alpert, Chief Institute Officer, Avodah
Recommendations
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Loving Our Own Bones: Disability Wisdom and the Spiritual Subversiveness of Knowing Ourselves Whole
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D’var Torah
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Resource Guide
Community Belonging Guide for Summer Camps
This guide by Keshet includes guidelines for how camps can be more inclusive, welcoming, and safe environments for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer individuals and families, organized around topics of culture, policy, and programming.
