Is self-employment the best way to change the world?

Recently I attended an anti-racist community event at which the question was posed: What moves us to do this work? While another participant shared their vision for a future without the harms of oppression, I looked inward. The future seems too far off. In this moment, the future is a fiction that I can't be sure will be achieved; it's too abstract. Yet in this moment I had a felt sense of why I was in it, in the here and now of my reality. I'm committed to anti-racism work for the same reason I'm committed to self-employment. This is a reason you may have felt but never put words or attention towards. It's not easy to put words to this, but I'm going to try.

What Is?

We humans spend far too much energy trying to make each other smaller. This is pervasive at all scales of humanity. From the large to the small. At a large scale, we believe our nation is superior to others and wage wars on little more than that premise. At the small end, we put ourselves into a ranking with other individuals. Either that person is smarter, prettier, or more experienced than me; or I am smarter or more well-off than that other person and I need to ensure this position stays.

This seems to be at the root of every -ism: that someone is better and someone is less. I don't know if this is intrinsic to all humans; I hope that it's not. But it doesn't matter because it doesn't serve us and we have a choice in this. This is not intrinsic to how living things function.

Our world is based in ecosystems, not hierarchies. Best/worst and most/least are not part of ecosystems. It's not conducive to the act of living. Life needs balance and ecosystems will always move towards balance. In an ecosystem, every lifeform has its purpose. We humans are not outside of these systems. We are a part of it. We could emulate it within our own societal systems (as many now-colonized cultures have historically done.)

What Could Be?

What is the opposite of this hierarchical worldview? I experience a possible opposite that is connection to the complexity of humanity. Life is not what we make it. Life is this energy that flows through and out of us. Life is being. Life is intrinsic and so so precious. Who we are as beings is magnificent and powerful. This life within us and all around us is magical and awe-inspiring.

Much of life is mundane, but then there are these moments. Fleeting and unplannable that spark in harmony with our soul. These are the moments that we're alive for. These are the moments we're tasked with learning how to cultivate. This is our "Why." Being the best doesn't bring joy, but this deep connection to life does.

And then our morning alarm blares. We pour a cup of coffee and tumble into the daily grind. No matter how much you love your work, we were not manifested into existence to "earn a living." That's a human construct. That's a choice. That's not necessary; we could organize our societies differently. And this is why I'm a self-employment coach. Each of us can organize ourselves differently and slowly change society.

Disprivileged individuals are familiar with the feeling of not fitting quite right. It's a low-grade friction with banal parts of life. Things that fall well within the realm of "reasonable" and "acceptable" yet don't quite fit right. I can only assume that they fit some right, but they don't fit me right. They don't fit my clients right. Not fitting right isn't a problem with you; it's a problem with society.

For us, self-employment isn't about ambition, riches, or more vacation time. It's about constructing a socio-economic micro-climate around us that suits us. It's custom-tailoring your "make a living" process so that your work times, styles, durations, and flavors are perfect for you. So that the process of earning a living doesn't consume all of life.

Connection

Life is actually about connection. Connection is the opposite of hierarchy and systems of oppression. Connection starts within ourselves. And connection is also outside us. We're connected to our communities, societies, and throughout the known and unknown universe.

-isms require disconnection from yourself. In order to even passively enact systems of oppression, privileged individuals have to deny ourselves a key part of our truth. To hold others down means we reject the difficult parts of ourselves. Connection to ourself means we accept all of ourself, shadow parts and all. If we are wholly connected then we would empathize before taking action or inaction that causes harm.

When we challenge the -isms and look deep within we find the truth: You are perfect and whole just the way you are. It's not that you're not productive enough. It's not that you're procrastinating. It's not that you're unqualified for a better-paying job. You are perfect and whole. Stop trying to change, and let's make society fit us better.

As the connection to ourselves strengthens we look outwards towards connection with others. United we can do great things. But with great power comes great responsibility, and far too often in our society, larger systems do harm. Our societal norms are historically rooted in colonialism and a dozen other systemic oppressions. It's no surprise that these norms reproduce themselves in any group.

What to do?

Anti-racism and self-employment are both radical acts of manifestation that bring us closer to wholeness. And it all starts with the individual. The individual is not removed from society, rather an individual is the smallest unit of humanity. It's the drop in the pond that causes the ripples. When we custom-tailor our lives it causes ripples. When we reclaim our means of production by becoming self-employed it sends cracks into the foundation of capitalism. Being self-employed is life-giving and world-changing on a personal, societal and spiritual level.

This article is overtly informed by the following people and works:
Molly Lannon Kenny, www.mollylannonkenny.org
Braiding Sweetgrass, by Robin Wall Kimmerer
Fred Rogers
Decolonizing Wealth by Edgar Villanueva
Trauma Response and Crisis Care (TRACC) for Movements, https://www.tracc4movements.com/