We all have our own definition of what lets us sleep at night.
I was talking to this woman and she was incredibly frustrated about the state of the world. She kept saying that if everyone just realized we’re all one, if everyone just understood this world is an illusion and we’re all spiritual beings, then there wouldn’t be so much suffering.
And I’m like, yeah. Sure. In theory.
But most of the population on Earth is not one epiphany away from enlightenment. It’s way more complicated than that. The structures of power have been around for a while. Humans have been doing horrendous things to each other since the dawn of time.
So she asked me how I reconcile that with my spiritual life.
And I’m like “What are we reconciling?” I genuinely didn’t understand the question.
My spiritual practices make my life better. They help me sleep at night because I’m clear on what my role is today. It might change tomorrow, that’s the practice. Constantly checking in. Making sure that whatever I’m doing during the day, I can put my head on the pillow at night and live with it.
I wish I could control the outcomes of my actions, or of anything really, but that’s just not how life works, in my experience.
I’ve worked in activism for decades. What some people might call “trying to save the world.” And last I checked, the world is not saved.
Have I achieved what I originally set out to do? Not yet.
Does that make me regretful? No.
Because I get to do my part. I get to move things closer to where I believe we should be, or at least closer to where I want us to be. That’s all I can do. And that’s enough to let me sleep.
I was also talking to a mom whose daughter is about to leave for college. She’s understandably anxious about not being nearby anymore. She knows this is what’s supposed to happen. Kids grow up and build their own lives.
But it’s still kinda terrifying.
And I said, listen, are you able to sleep at night with how you’re raising her?
Because she might have a fabulous life. She might have a brutal life. More likely than not, she’ll have a human life, fabulous and brutal, ups and downs like everyone else.
And there is no version of motherhood that can control that.
All a mom can do is her best. And her best changes over time. But on any given night, she can say: with what I knew, with what I had, with the effort I put in, that’s what I could do.
That’s it.
When I was young and learned about the Holocaust, like a lot of people, I couldn’t understand how it happened. What were people doing? How was it allowed?
And I think part of the answer is this: people did what they could sleep at night with.
Maybe they did nothing because they didn’t have the courage. Maybe they were exhausted. Maybe the denial was so thick they couldn’t see clearly. Maybe some didn’t care, but I think that number is smaller than we assume.
The reality is, you could argue that right now we should all be chaining ourselves to the White House gates and refusing to leave until ICE is defunded or democracy is restored.
How can we go about our lives with what’s going on in the world, in this country?
And… I’m trying to go about my life to the best of my ability.
Because my political work, my spiritual work, my consulting work, my people, are all I can do. All I choose to do. That feels like the place where I am responsible. That’s where I believe I’m most helpful. That’s the lane I’m choosing.
We’re not all meant to do everything. We’re not good at everything. And we shouldn’t pretend to be.
But there is a baseline obligation, the tax we pay for being alive, and it’s not “Did I fix the world?” but:
What am I actually responsible for?
What am I willing to be accountable for?
What can I live with?
Let’s not wait for the cliché midlife crisis where someone wakes up at 45 and realizes they built a life they can’t stand.
Let’s think about it now.
So that when you close your eyes at night, you can say:
I didn’t do everything.
But I did not look away.
Courage, truth, and infinite love,
PS: If you’re not fully at peace when you close your eyes at night, Liberation Magic is where you learn how to build a life you can actually stand behind.
PODCAST INTERVIEW
If today's Liberation Letters resonates, I recently had a conversation on the Waking Up the Witch podcast that explores this tension more directly.
We talked about what it means to be both spiritual and political. About why “we’re all one” is not a sufficient political strategy. And about the role of Liberation Magic as a framework for clarity, community, and collective change.
If you’ve ever wondered how to reconcile inner work with real-world systems of power, this episode might speak to you. Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or YouTube.
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I don’t believe in magic, but I know that it works!
Magic is not a belief system, it’s a practice that works. Don’t believe me? Come try it out. If it doesn’t work, you lose nothing. But if it does… your dream life is about to begin!
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“El poder está en la acción.”
— Maritza Schafer