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Tara Christina's avatar

This is incredible! Even though I learned small pieces of this lesson years ago, your expansion of the concept is crafted so beautifully, and in an easily digestible manner. To me anyway.

I appreciate this essay so much. Thank you!

Also, Love this quote: “Train yourself toward solidarity and not charity. You are no one’s savior. You are a mutual partner in the pursuit of freedom.” -Brittany Packett

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Sage Justice's avatar

Oh Dear Tara, your thoughtful feedback is so valuable to me. Thank you! I’d love to use it as a quote in the intro, if I may?

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Tara Christina's avatar

Absolutely 😀

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Fleur Alys Dobbins's avatar

The vertical (charity) vs the horizontal (solidarity). Nourishing food for the mind and soul. Something to really contemplate. Thank you for this deep share.

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Kelly Kemmerly's avatar

Totally blown away! Thank. You.

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Sage Justice's avatar

Thank YOU, dear Kelly.

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Dianna Lynn's avatar

Such a lovely piece, Sage. Read through it a few times now. This line, "There will come a time in every person’s life when they are dependent on some form of kindness and compassion from another," stood out to me. We begin that way, don't we, at birth? And then we forget or are brainwashed into believing we can (or should) survive on our own. Love the idea of solidarity. Thank you for your ideas. Always love increasing my capacity to think about the world with a wider lens.

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Sage Justice's avatar

Thank you for this thoughtful and kind comment, Dianna. Yes, we forget our oneness through tribalistic training and competition of teams with the mentality of “us” versus “them.” We gain clarity through compassion and empathy- when we can see ourselves in another, we achieve solidarity.

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Liz Harris's avatar

Wow, what a beautiful article. And so very true. I realize after my divorce that I've been saying, "After all I did for him..." and it so minimizes my true emotions. I gave because I wanted to because that's who I am. I now realize that the gift is in the giving and you have just put everything into words for me.

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Sage Justice's avatar

Oh, thank you, dear Liz. When a relationship dissolves we can feel a sense of betrayal; your feelings make perfect sense.

You ARE a giver. I’m glad this piece has helped remind you of the gift you are to others, to me, to all your friends and family. ❤️‍🩹🌻😘

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Danni Levy's avatar

These past days with my family together and traveling we are relearning solidarity. Funny, but I find thst it is often more difficult to cultivate within my home than with strangers. Thank you for this reinforcement today. Particularly this: Judging and expecting people to behave as you would is a sign that you are expecting something from others that needs to come to you, from you. 🙏🙏🙏❤️

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Sage Justice's avatar

Thank you for sharing this with me, Danni. You reminded me of a piece I wrote a few years ago and never published about why it’s so hard for charity to actually start at home… I’m going to see if I can find and publish that soon. See how you inspire me? 🥰I hope you’re having a wonderful time in your travels, away from your laptop. Enjoy your day. 🌻

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Sage Justice's avatar

Thank you again, here’s another very short piece on equity versus equality. https://substack.com/@sagewords2027/note/p-162236100?utm_source=notes-share-action&r=1ezxpl

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