All of my life, even before I knew the word “Transference”, I witnessed this happening among us humans. And as a child, having had experienced way too much of it, I vowed to do everything I could to avoid being a part of this toxic cycle. Ironically, because I haven’t wanted to give back to people the things that they’ve transferred onto me, I’ve either taken more than my fair share of mistreatment having faith the people would realize what was happening or, I’ve ended situations where I knew that there would not be any chance of relational restoration without some significant distance. But, despite all of these experiences, I am not bitter or apathetic because of the gift of creativity. I also don’t lie to myself about the fact that America is a transactional society by and large and that we operate under the notion that whoever owns the most debt is winning the game. It is a completely extractive way to function. And as a social practice, it demands of its adherents to treat each other as a means to an end. My faith guides me differently. Mindful of this, I accept that we can’t dismantle systems that are inherently destructive. They feed off of oppositional energy. You have to CREATE SOMETHING BETTER. When I feel emotions that won’t serve me or others, I pray, “God help me turn this into something creative before it turns into something else. That’s why I work to #makeartnotwar.