Rewriting the American dream

In her book How We Show Up,

Mia Birdsong writes

“…THE AMERICAN DREAM IS WHITE SUPREMACY CULTURE BOUND UP WITH CAPITALISM AND PATRIARCHY.”

The American dream is the charm of ANTICIPATED success. The promise of a better life. The idea that anyone can become a “self made man.” The notion that if you work hard enough, all of your needs will be met: Home ownership. Education. Health insurance. Job security. Retirement.

The MYTH of the American Dream is important to the people in charge, because it gives us the ILLUSION that “all men are created equal," and have equal access to "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”

But our founding fathers were slave owners, who forbade women from voting or working outside the home.

The “American Dream” was built on racism, sexism, and (white/cis) male dominance.

"I have spent my life judging the distance between American reality and the American Dream."

-Bruce Springsteen

The American dream has lead to several generations of burnt out, stressed out, exhausted, overworked & under-nourished people.

The American dream has led to extreme inequality and blatant wage gaps for women, transgender people, people of color and immigrants. In the U.S, our top 0.1 percent hold roughly the same share of wealth as our bottom 90 percent.

I believe that our work in this lifetime is to re-write the American Dream, because the American dream is holding us back.

The new American dream needs to focus on what matters: Contributing to COMMUNITY, Doing the things that feed your soul, Sharing the wealth, Spending time with family and friends, Nature, Creativity, A celebration of diversity.

If you feel like there's something wrong with YOU because you don't want the marriage, the kids, the college degree, the 9-to-5, the 401K, the mortgage, the white picket fence, the Gucci bag, the $300 baylage highlights, the newest iPhone… It's not YOU-- it's the system.

If you feel like the odd one out because you can't stop thinking about quitting your corporate job to open a taco cart on the beach in Mexico, know that you're not the only one.

We have ALL been conditioned to believe that these are pipe dreams, not real life.

Yet— If you knew you couldn’t fail, what would you do differently? Would you listen to those little whispers?