Happy 5th of July!

Happy 5th of July!

That’s right… the day after Independence Day.

While many celebrated independence yesterday, many mourned what feels like a continued loss of independence. And many more, like me, just felt the complexity and contradictions of the day.

On the one hand, I am so grateful for the immense privilege and freedoms I do have by living in this country and am acutely aware of how lucky we are compared to a HUGE percentage of the world’s population. I’m also so grateful and in awe of the sacrifices my great-grandparents and grandparents made to come to this country- fleeing pogroms, violence and poverty -  to give that privilege and opportunity to the future generations of their family.

I think being able to say “I’m not going to celebrate America’s independence” is in itself a huge privilege and often comes from people whose families didn’t have to sacrifice and risk their lives for a chance at freedom.

On the other hand…. F*CK everything happening in this country right now! On Independence Day itself I sat with some of my closest friends from Highland Park as we watched the news of another mass shooting in their seemingly safe hometown. I sat with women grieving over the possible loss of our bodily autonomy, and with LGBTQ friends whose own freedoms are being threatened.

Every day it feels like our sense of freedom, independence and personal safety are being threatened or taken away.

And I am just sitting with these contradictions and this complexity.

And I am reminding myself, with love, that freedom always begins as an inside job.

So instead of Happy 4th this year, I’m saying Happy 5th…. because after the celebration, we must continue the work towards true freedom, true independence, and true safety.

And yes- it starts from within.

So what are YOU doing to create freedom inside of yourself first, so that you can help change the world?

I’m a music industry impact coach helping mission-driven people in the music industry do just that. If that’s you and you’d like to explore what it would be like to work together - send me a note and let’s chat!