02/06/2026
For most of my life, I believed my family came to the US by choice.
My great grandparents were Germans who moved to Russia under the promise of owning their own land. Then power shifted (Nicholas the Czar came into reign) and those who were not ethnic Russia were no longer welcome.
As my great aunt once said, ‘we could leave willingly or we’d be removed’. Removed meant going to Siberia.
When I visited India, I willingly went!
And even then, with my US passport and white skin, I felt the ache of balancing adaptation and identity. Who I am here? What do I hold onto? What do I soften?
In Autobiography of a Yogi, Yogananda writes about the subtler realms where souls recognize one another beyond race, nation or form. We all have known one another across lifetimes.
Ayurveda teaches, Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam, that is the world is a one world family. We are a literal one world family.
I’ve also worked in the criminal/legal system. I’ve see what happens when systems become more important than the humans.
Systems shape outcomes. And the consciousness that builds these systems shape all of us. And we can shift that consciousness.
I find myself continually thinking:
This isn’t about creating stronger border or increasing arrests. It is about understanding the deep belonging we have to one another.
What if the real question isn’t about how to divide, conquer or control land and people, but rather about how we honor the humanity that moves across the land?
Somewhere in my lineage, someone left under pressure. I’m guessing somewhere in your lineage someone left under pressure too. And even if they willingly left their ‘home’ country, does that matter?
I trust the sages. We belong deeply to one another. Now and always.
