00:30

How To Become An Activist? Your Inner Power In Public

by Ana Mael

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An activist is not defined by having a megaphone, a protest sign, or a nonprofit behind them. An activist is defined by what they choose to do with their awareness of harm. What Activism Is Not - It’s not just posting online. That can be part of it, but activism means risk + persistence. - It’s not agreeing quietly. Agreement without disruption is still obedience. - It’s not being liked. Activists are often rejected before they’re remembered. Examples: - A woman leaving an abusive home and naming the abuse publicly - activism. - Someone marching against police brutality - activism. - A worker organizing colleagues for fair pay - activism. - An exile writing truth about war crimes when silence is expected - activism. In short, an activist is anyone who chooses resistance over silence, clarity over obedience, and action over numbness.

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Transcript

I will repeat myself over and over again.

People who went through trauma and complex PTSD are the most valuable activists we have on this planet,

On this planet,

And don't be afraid to move from observing to acting on it.

Okay.

So when we have a silence as a tool of survival,

There is one big gift which gets to be born from it,

And that's a gift of observing.

And I truly believe that every activist is born from a place of silence and place of observing.

If you have been silenced,

Welcome.

If you have been watching injustice in your own relationship,

In your own life,

In your home,

Your workplace,

Or your country,

This episode is for you.

From observer to activist,

Here is how you can find your voice.

Welcome to Exile and Rising.

Today's episode is called From Silent Observer to Activist and How to Find Your Voice.

And this is for you if you have been sitting in the shadows,

Watching injustice,

Feeling it in your body,

But keeping quiet.

And maybe that injustice was in your family or in your relationship,

In your culture,

In your workplace,

And even now what you can see in your own country.

If you have been an observer,

Today I want to talk with you as you cross the threshold from silence into voice,

And from being quiet into being someone who can resist,

From observer to activist.

And many people ask,

How do I become activist,

And even who is an activist?

So,

Let's define first who is an activist.

An activist is not defined by having a megaphone,

Or a protest sign,

Or a nonprofit behind them.

An activist,

In my experience,

Is defined by what you choose to do with your awareness of harm,

And only if you have a place of choice.

Okay?

So,

Many people feel ashamed,

Especially men,

They feel so ashamed because they couldn't voice out,

They couldn't act on it,

But they couldn't because,

As you know,

I'm a somatic experiencing therapist for PTSD and complex trauma.

With people with complex trauma,

Living in oppression,

Coming from the war and genocide and displacement,

There is no place of choice.

There is no place where you can become activist.

Sometimes the best thing you can do to protect yourself and your family is to be very,

Very quiet,

And that can be also the form of activism,

When you don't have a choice,

When you don't have a choice,

But to be quiet so you can save your life and the life of your family.

In my experience,

That's the deepest form of activism,

Because your biology is fighting,

Is fighting enormous energy to burst,

To fight,

To scream for injustice,

And yet it was a moment of awareness and survival where you had to be quiet.

Okay?

So,

That's one very important thing we need to be aware of.

So,

Let's see what defines,

Quote,

Unquote,

Normal activist,

When you have a choice.

So,

By core definition of activist,

An activist is one who refuses silence in the face of injustice,

One who acts in word,

Right,

Body,

Or deed to disrupt harm and push toward justice.

And what makes someone an activist is moving from awareness into action.

For example,

Everyone sees injustice,

But not everyone moves.

An activist moves.

Okay?

Also,

There is risk,

Risk coupled with bravery and courage.

So,

Activism means taking risk,

Social risk,

Social risk that you might be taking.

Okay?

So,

Fear can be canceled,

That you might be cut off from your community,

From your family,

Right?

It's relational risk.

It's financial risk.

Even many times,

As we could see,

It's a physical risk as well.

Okay?

So,

The presence of fear doesn't cancel activism.

Fear will always be present,

Right?

But that act of moving defines it.

Also,

We have witness and we have a voice.

So,

Activists bear witness.

So,

They see clearly,

Right?

But then,

They also use voice.

They refuse erasure by naming what others want.

Okay?

So,

It's not only witnessing doesn't mean anything for activism if you are not expressing in any form,

Right?

And then,

We have a personal and collective.

An activist doesn't only fight for self.

It fights for humanity.

It fights for moral justice.

It fights for the human next to him,

Right?

So,

Activism is very personal and collective.

So,

It needs to be both,

Right?

Activists,

They know personal survival and collective freedom is here.

It's intertwined.

Okay?

What activism is not?

Activism is not agreeing quietly.

Because agreement without disruption,

Without naming,

Without… So,

Without this expression is still obedience.

Being quiet doesn't mean anything.

If you're agreeing quietly,

That doesn't mean you're acting on it.

You're still witnessing.

Activism is not being liked.

You won't be liked by many people.

Okay?

And activists are often rejected before they're remembered,

Before they make an impact.

So,

If you feel like you need to be liked,

Right?

Well,

Simply you cannot be activists,

Right?

Because you will disrupt other people's opinions many times,

Right?

So,

Let's see the examples of it.

So,

What would be examples of activism?

Leaving an abusive home and naming and speaking that abuse happened when you're ready for it is activism.

Marching against police brutality.

Activism.

Marching against government tyranny.

Activism.

A worker organizing colleagues for fair pay.

Activism.

An exile writing truth about war crimes.

Genocide.

When silence is expected.

Activism.

Okay?

So,

In short,

An activist is anyone who can choose,

Not everyone can choose,

But who is in a place of choosing.

Resistance over silence.

Clarity over obedience.

And action over numbness.

Okay?

So,

We will see what activism means on micro level,

Right?

And on macro level as well,

Right?

So,

Micro activism is very,

Very important.

We start from this micro,

Micro.

This is between me and me.

And it's a crucial,

This is how we get this ripple effect of moving more into activism,

What people see on TV.

But you start here.

So,

In relationship,

Your activism,

Okay?

So,

You can call this,

This is my self-activism.

When you need to advocate for yourself,

You're your own activist.

You're an activist for your hurt parts,

For your inner child,

For a person who was not treated well.

Okay?

So,

Many times in relationship,

It can be as saying,

No,

That's not okay.

Mom,

Dad,

That's not okay.

Instead of staying silent,

That's your activism.

Okay?

Activism is refusing to laugh at a sexist or racist joke.

That's your activism.

When everyone,

Your bodies are laughing,

Your friends are laughing,

A racist joke,

Jokes about immigrants.

Why are you not laughing?

What's wrong with you?

Are you again in a mood?

I don't find racist jokes to be funny.

Activism.

Okay?

Naming abuse in a family system instead of normalizing,

That's your activism.

That's a big thing to disrupt the family system of silence and normalizing abuse.

So,

That's activism.

Okay?

Going to the therapy can be your own activism.

If you're coming from a family who would ridicule mental health,

That's your activism.

That's your activism.

You act on it,

Which is different than the system you live in.

Because you know it's right for you.

You know it's just for you.

Okay?

In a daily life,

How that can look is correcting misinformation in a small conversation,

In a small,

By micro-education,

Informing your colleagues about immigrants,

By refugees,

By minorities,

By gender.

Not to be a smart aleck,

But just micro-education.

That's your activism.

That's it.

If this is where you are,

This is so big,

So big for your nervous system.

So,

Even to move and to name,

To name something that's important for you in front of others,

That means you are acting on it.

You are not suppressing,

Depressing your own integrity,

Your own moral value.

So,

Activism means I'm expressing and acting on what I know is moral for me.

Okay?

Also,

Supporting a co-worker who has been dismissed or overlooked.

How many times do you do that?

Someone,

That person next to you who knows is just a grinder and loyal and silent and who gets to be dismissed,

Dismissed,

Promoted.

Name it.

Activism.

Okay.

And also asking who benefits when a rule,

Policy,

Or tradition feels unjust?

Who benefits when something feels unjust?

You know it's not you.

Okay.

So,

How is activism on a personal level,

Personal healing,

Is breaking silence about your trauma.

It's a big thing,

Breaking silence about your trauma.

What would that look like?

Support groups,

Journaling,

And then going to the groups,

Reading about it,

Writing the post,

Posting on YouTube podcast.

So,

That's your activism.

Personal activism can also be refusing to gaslight yourself with lines like,

Oh,

It wasn't so bad,

At least I wasn't arrested,

Or I wasn't killed.

No,

No.

Activism,

Again,

Means doing what's just.

You're not doing justice for yourself if you're devaluing,

Dismissing,

Disregarding your own experience or anyone else.

Okay.

Also,

People who are so into activism,

And this is what I'm reminding my clients,

Many of them,

They're activists,

Is a form of activism can be choosing to rest.

To rest.

Because taking care of yourself and your own healing is also the resistance,

Because if you're thinking,

I have an episode about tyranny and obedience,

Their system wants you to be so exhausted,

So you cannot use your mind,

Your thinking,

And the system wants you numb and obedient.

So,

Act of resistance of activism can also be you taking rest,

So you have your cognitive capacities back,

So you can act on what's right for you and collective.

In community,

So what would activism be in community?

We can see everywhere now,

Look what's happening on our planet,

In United States,

In Canada,

In Europe,

In Palestine.

So,

Helping a neighbor who feels threatened and unsafe,

Helping your neighbor people,

Volunteering or donating even a small amount,

But not to brush off your guilt.

No,

But intentionally to say this will be my act or helping to decide,

Because it feels right,

This is wrong.

Showing up to listen at local meeting,

Even if you don't speak yet.

But showing up,

That can be your act of activism.

So,

Why this matters?

Activism starts in your nervous system,

Right?

And every time you resist numbing,

You practice this muscle of resistance.

So,

Resistance is a muscle,

And micro builds to macro.

So,

That's why before we move to the streets and protests and all these big fancy things you can see on TV,

And I know many people are shaming themselves and feel guilty because they feel they are not doing anything,

But feel they build up of injustice.

You will get there.

But we need to start with micro.

Okay,

Because that micro,

The courage to say no to a partner,

To your parent,

Right,

Is your base,

And it's a big thing to do because it will build this courage.

If you can say no to your inner family system,

Right,

And stand up for your own rights,

It will be way easier to go out and to say no to the tyranny.

Okay.

And system collapse from a thousand small refusals.

So,

You don't need to wait until you're ready for a march.

Your everyday choices already shifts a culture.

So,

Your everyday choice,

People can feel that.

The energy can be different.

It will be different.

So,

If you're at the beginning of becoming an activist,

If you want to join,

There is a link in the show notes.

You can check how to become an activist,

The lessons I'm teaching.

So,

The link is in the below,

How to become an activist.

But for beginners and for people who are more into macro activism,

But keep this mantra,

Right,

For beginners.

Activism is not just protest.

It is every refusal to obey harm.

It's every choice to speak truth.

And every act of care in the face of power over.

It's an act of care toward that someone next to you.

And you start.

Here.

By act of care.

By act of care.

Between you and you.

So,

Let's explore what's below before we move to activism.

Is a big silence.

And silence is survival.

What's below?

What needs to be distraught and honored is a silence's survival.

And silence often begins in the home.

As children,

Many of us,

As kids,

Many of us survive by staying quiet.

And we learned,

Don't provoke,

Don't question,

Don't confront,

Right?

Silence kept us safe.

But what once kept you alive becomes the very thing that can kill your vitality as an adult.

Right?

In abusive relationships,

Silence means being safe.

Where you had to tolerate insults and betrayals and neglect.

Right?

In a family system,

Silence means obey tradition,

Obey religion,

Obey a culture.

Even when they rob you from your own dignity.

But what that means is also survival.

Because as a child,

As a minor,

And even as an adult,

Being cut off from your family is a terrifying thing.

It means I don't belong anywhere.

So where do I belong?

Right?

So when we have a silence as a tool of survival,

There is one big gift which gets to be born from it.

And that's a gift of observing.

And I truly believe that every activist is born from a place of silence.

And place of observing.

Because in deep trauma,

One thing what saves you is being able to observe and notice and to develop your critical thinking.

Right?

And you had to be silence for many years,

Maybe even now.

And honor that,

If now you have to be silence,

Honor that.

If you removed yourself from unsafe place,

But there is still this survival mechanism alive in you,

And you can speak now.

Right?

There is a big gift.

There is a big gift.

And there is a time where you can move into becoming an activist from observer to activists.

Okay.

So I just want to take a pause in a moment to reflect on this.

Okay.

The gift of being activist is born from a place of silence.

From a place of being observant.

Because you had to survive.

Okay.

Also one thing I want to put out there is illusion of betrayal.

So when you start to question,

When you start to develop your critical thinking,

It feels like betrayal.

Betrayal of your parents,

Of your culture,

Of your community,

Even your partner.

But this is not betrayal.

This is your integrity,

Your autonomy,

Your agency,

Your freedom speaking up.

So you're not betraying them.

You're betraying that obedience or conditions you outgrow.

And the way,

Let's say in abusive relationship,

In controlling authoritarian families or countries,

One tool which is used in tyranny and in controlling countries,

Right,

In power over dynamics,

Is basically making you believe questioning is betrayal.

The moment you start to question,

You start to feel as you're betraying.

You're not loyal anymore to your family,

Right,

Or to your partner,

To your country.

And in that way,

Which is a very smart thing to do if you're thinking about this,

Is you self-police,

Right,

Your silence.

But betrayal is not in questioning.

Betrayal is when you abandon your moral values,

When you see injustice done to your neighbor,

Done to your friend,

And you're silent.

So this is how you can develop,

Right,

The more about this is in the lesson below.

But let's see how you can move from this personal activism to a public voice.

Once you begin speaking in your personal life,

That same courage will expand outward.

So you will move from observer,

Right,

Noticing quietly.

How many decades,

If you take a look,

We spend in that place?

There is enormous intelligence in you and wisdom.

And it's a time to give that back to someone who is at that observer place and who is not safe to make a choice to be an activist.

So observer is noticing quietly,

And then you're moving,

You're leveling up.

Okay,

As in game,

To a whisperer.

You start to speak in a safe circle.

So you find your person or two people,

Five people,

You find that safe space.

You're becoming a whisperer.

So many groups,

Support groups,

Are right for that.

You can start speaking in a safe circle.

Game.

And then you are like edge walker.

You're testing your voice in public.

So that can be also speaking out in the supportive group.

Right,

That's public.

Okay,

That's public.

Or at some family meeting or community meeting,

Right?

Then you're becoming a witness.

Okay.

Witness.

So this is quite a shift here.

But you're observer.

You have that intelligence,

Okay?

Don't deny that.

Don't deny that.

That's the gift of trauma,

Right?

Naming clearly what others deny.

That's a superpower.

That's a superpower.

That's a superpower.

How not to be in the place of doubting yourself.

Then we have a voice.

So the voice,

Okay,

This is what I'm doing.

I'm creating.

I'm writing.

I'm organizing.

I'm speaking out.

Right?

Many voices are on podcast.

On YouTube podcast.

Yes.

So don't consume.

Consume,

But also ask yourself,

How about I start to voice my voice out?

From my deep place of observing.

In silence.

Right?

And then we have a force,

Which means I'm inspiring others to rise.

Okay.

So in a way,

The path of activism mirrors trauma healing.

First,

You reclaim your nervous system.

Then you reclaim your relationships.

Right?

And then you reclaim your society.

So healing,

As I said in episode,

We need justice,

Not breathwork.

I was talking how justice is,

And healing is relational.

It's very relational.

Okay.

So for me,

Coming and surviving an exile,

Then wars,

Genocide,

I came from the soil where fascism,

The worst of the humanity was born.

Okay.

Silence,

Obedience,

Numbness was the way how you survive.

But also the medicine,

The way out.

Right?

Is to develop from observing,

From observing,

Contemplating.

You develop your critical thinking.

And from the place where you see the horrors,

You also see complete opposite side.

And that's humanity.

Humanity,

Which is unbelievable to describe in solidarity,

In moral clarity.

This couldn't be born if I didn't witness and experience this.

Same goes for you.

So you have this.

Right?

So the trauma healing,

Pain,

Suffering.

So much pain.

But also it gives us this.

Knowing what's right.

Knowing what's right.

You know what's right coming from this.

You know what's just.

You know what's human.

You know how it feels to be treated without any humanity.

So you know what's dignity.

Voice.

You're activist for this.

For this.

And you're against this.

Okay.

So your voice disrupts this.

Your action on it disrupts this.

So what you need to remember when you want to explore this or when you're in it,

Okay,

Is that speaking the truth is not cruel.

Speaking hard truth about yourself about obedience,

Tyranny,

Or abusive relationship will always feel too much for someone.

Okay.

And that's not the sign you're wrong.

It's a sign that you're cutting through someone denial.

Someone too muchness when you're here,

If this is your why,

Someone too muchness is not your problem.

That's their problem.

That's not your why.

You're not stopping because it's too much for someone because you made someone feel filled with discomfort.

That's their therapy.

You know your whys.

Okay.

And you know the silence breeds the very harm you fight.

And if you're moving into this to please everyone,

Right,

To be liked by everyone,

You risk reinforcing the systems of apathy,

Of being dissociate,

Being obedient,

Being numb.

That you don't want,

Here,

You don't want to be part of this.

You don't want to be part of the family who was very numb and obedient anymore.

No,

Right?

Also,

When you're moving into a place of activism,

Micro or macro form,

You will teach from your lived experience.

Okay,

And you?

Every activist is teaching from a lived experience,

Not from some theory,

From,

You know,

From the lab.

You're speaking from your survival.

I'm speaking from my survival of war,

Displacement,

Homelessness,

Being exiled.

You speak from your own survival.

That's your testimony.

It's your embodied history,

Which gives you this moral weight.

And you can use that.

And use that.

This is not learned in some books,

Theory.

No.

It's learned in life,

In lab of life.

Okay,

So when your activism is challenged,

You go back to your lived truth,

And no one can deny that.

And do not be in a trap that someone's discomfort equals insult.

No.

No.

Okay.

Because this sharpness,

Critical thinking,

Is a medicine for many.

It's not mockery.

It's not that you're putting someone down.

No.

Okay.

So what you need to be aware of,

That your audience,

Okay,

They might confuse discomfort,

What's happening in their own body,

With being attacked.

But that's their therapy.

Okay.

And you need to be very clear about why.

Okay.

Why?

Why?

Why is this so important for you?

Is it enough for you,

Again,

To be silent?

To be only observer?

To be irrelevant when you have so much to say and to give to someone who is right here?

Maybe both of you are right here in this state of being exiled from your own family,

Your own country,

And you can still,

From this place,

Pull to this place.

Okay.

Or both.

Both.

We know this.

In war.

The best examples of humanity I saw,

Actually,

Here.

In horrors.

Okay.

And also think about this,

That not everyone will be your people.

That's normal.

People will resist.

People will feel this way.

People will feel offended or too much,

Right?

But that's okay.

You're not serving those people in this moment.

Maybe this is just enough for them.

You're serving someone who needs you.

Right?

So normalize that you will be misunderstood.

Don't take it personally.

Okay?

People who are so invested in comfort of silence,

Not because they don't have a choice,

Silence is a place of privilege.

Okay?

They'll call you angry,

Negative,

Crazy,

Too much.

But this is their projection.

It reveals their fear,

Not your truth.

Okay?

So,

And activists,

On micro or macro level,

Are always rewritten by those loud ones,

Privileged ones.

But you stay grounded in your own narrative.

You write your own activist bio in your own words.

Right?

That's your practice.

That's your practice.

Also,

Your voice,

When your voice starts to be of more impact,

Right?

Of more of disruption,

You will have backlash.

If you ignore it,

You are not probably shaking the system.

You're not shaking those conditioned,

Trained,

Trained,

Shrinked,

Shrinked beliefs.

Okay?

So,

Resistance to your voice means your words hit the nerve,

Hit the nerve into power over.

That's good.

Right?

So,

And also,

Don't measure your success by approval.

It's very good.

If you hear feedback,

We also need to hear yes,

But also measure by disruption.

Okay?

Measure by disruption.

So,

Let's see.

So,

Five micro acts of activism.

You can start today.

So,

No marches required,

Where you can start where you are.

Speak one truth aloud.

That's a big thing.

If you're starting from the place of being silent and observant,

For years,

Speaking one truth aloud.

Okay?

If something feels wrong,

Name it even softly.

And it can be so simple as,

That joke isn't funny.

I don't agree with that.

This is just activism between you and you because you spoke your truth.

Right?

You stick with your moral values,

With your principle.

Okay?

So,

That's one way of micro activism.

And by micro,

I mean just between you and you.

It doesn't mean it's less important.

It's so valuable and it's so important.

Okay?

Second,

You can refuse harm in small circles.

Okay?

So,

You can set up a boundary with a partner,

With a family member,

With your kid,

With your friend.

And this micro resistance,

Micro activism can be as,

Don't talk to me that way.

Don't talk to me that way.

Activism.

Okay?

Stand with one person.

If someone is ignored,

Dismissed,

Or attacked,

And you know how that feels,

Right?

And that's why I will repeat myself over and over again.

People who went through trauma and complex PTSD are the most valuable activists we have on this planet.

And don't be afraid to move from observing to acting on it.

Okay?

So,

If someone is ignored,

Dismissed,

Or attacked,

Stand beside them.

So,

What that means,

Literally standing beside that someone who has been ignored and just dismissed,

And you can say,

I got you.

Activism also means I'll just place my hand at the back of your heart.

I have your back.

Activism.

Also,

You can interrupt your own silence.

Okay?

So,

What would that be?

Journal.

Record a voice note.

Okay?

Doesn't have to be public yet.

But also,

You can share a post about what matters to you.

Okay?

So,

Microstep would be also speaking to yourself,

Right?

Before we move to the speaking out,

Out there,

Right?

So,

Every act of truth,

No matter how small,

Is activism,

Right?

And silence builds tyranny,

Micro-courage,

So micro-bravery builds your own freedom.

Okay?

So,

Let's see five next-level steps in activism,

Right?

When you graduate from your own private activism,

Right?

And we always do this,

Always,

Throughout our whole life,

Right?

How do we move to the public impact?

So,

How do we move from private voice to public witness?

You can move from journaling,

Or whispering,

To posting,

To speaking,

Right?

Or naming injustice in public spaces.

And start small,

And you can always say,

This is my micro-experiment.

I'll just do my,

My micro-experiment of activism.

I will say something out loud,

In public,

What has more value for me.

What's my truth?

It'll be micro-experiment.

Okay?

That's it.

That's it.

Okay?

So,

You start small,

You start small,

When you start speaking to the public.

Okay?

So,

Example can be sharing a personal story online.

And it doesn't have to be feeling of you're exposing yourself,

Right?

But sharing something where you know it will make an impact on that person who is still in the place of being silenced,

Because it has to survive.

Okay?

Also,

Moving from solo boundaries to collective solidarity.

Okay?

Begin aligning with others who share your values.

That's big power,

To be with people with shared values.

So,

This can be join a local group,

Support group,

Show up at a protest.

Okay?

Support your friend cause publicly.

And then,

You can also move from reacting to creating.

So,

Instead of only resisting,

Right?

Create alternatives.

So,

What that can be is you can start support group,

Right?

You can organize a workshop.

You can make an art or content that educates and inspire,

Right?

This is many podcasters,

This is what you're doing,

The therapist,

The teachers.

And you can also move from bystander to upstander take risk to intervene when harm happens online or offline.

You can call out on misinformation.

You can call out.

You can defend someone targeted.

You can write to representatives.

Don't stay silent.

Don't,

Right?

And then,

You can move from awareness into action strategy.

Okay?

So,

Begin organizing your activism so it sustains.

What that means?

You can run monthly commitments,

Okay?

Volunteering,

Donation,

Invents,

Create a long-term collaboration.

You can mentor others,

Okay?

I do lots of mentoring.

Also,

You can sign up for,

If you want to be an activist,

But it can feel very lonely,

Sign up for monthly meetings.

Here,

The link will be below,

Okay?

It will be a community group of activists where we will share how activism is showing up in our lives,

In our community.

Okay?

So,

With all of this,

Remember,

Activism grows like a muscle.

Micro,

Truth,

Build courage,

Build that bravery,

Build that muscle.

And then,

Collective,

Once we move from micro to macro to collective actions,

Builds change.

Builds change.

Okay?

So,

If you want to implement the activist growth path,

Teaching lessons is below,

How to become activist,

Right?

And one thing also,

I just want to name here,

Who is not an activist?

Activist is not someone who consciously choose to stay silent because of their own convenience.

It's going to disrupt their frequency,

Their energy.

That's not activist.

That's spiritual bypasser.

Okay?

Neutralizers,

People who always say both sides are valid.

When they know one side is oppressed.

In this case,

Neutrality protects the oppressor.

It's not stand on the side of the justice.

And there is nothing spiritual about this.

Okay?

Consumers,

People who read,

Share,

Or scroll through activist content,

But never embody in action,

In relationships,

Or choices.

So,

Consumers only,

Right?

It's not activism,

If you're not acting on it.

Okay?

Followers without thought.

So,

Someone who obeys culture,

Religion,

Politics,

Or family,

Without questioning.

Right?

Mistaking obedience for loyalty.

That's not activist.

That's not activist.

Because people can really feel,

Oh,

This is what I am doing for my family,

For my country.

Right?

But it's still in a frame of being obedient.

Also,

The cynics.

People who dismiss activism as pointless,

Or dramatic,

Or a waste of time.

There is nothing we can do.

Everything is doomed and gloomed.

And cynicism is a shield to avoid responsibility.

Okay?

And the last one,

The silent beneficiary.

Those who call and quietly enjoy rights,

Freedoms,

Or privileges others fought for,

But refuse to risk anything to protect them.

Not okay.

Oh,

Not okay.

So,

Also,

Not being an activist doesn't always mean someone is bad.

Absolutely not.

It often means,

As I said,

They are still in a place of being choiceless.

And this is very serious.

And this is the place where you absolutely need to be silent.

Okay?

Second,

If people who are over-identified with belonging are afraid to betray family,

Community,

Very common.

So,

And people who are numb from trauma,

Who are so exhausted,

Who are coming,

Who are still coming,

Coming into awareness that they have been in trauma,

Or abuse.

So,

Not being an activist doesn't mean it's a bad thing.

Right?

If you are in one of this category,

Or probably you know your own,

You name your own for yourself.

Okay?

So,

How do you become activist?

What will keep you stay grounded?

How to move into speaking out?

How to seek for support?

How to stay with your own values when you are about to publish something?

Online,

Podcast,

Video,

Newsletter,

Teachings,

Community work.

And as always,

As always,

Pause,

Reflect.

Be gentle with yourself.

Be gentle with yourself.

Now more than ever.

And until next time,

I'm Anna Mael.

This is Excelent Rising.

Much care.

Much care.

Meet your Teacher

Ana MaelToronto, ON, Canada

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© 2026 Ana Mael. All rights reserved. All copyright in this work remains with the original creator. No part of this material may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the copyright owner.

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