“The work of anti-racism is the work of becoming a better human to other humans.”
Recently I was listening to Brené Brown’s podcast Unlocking Us (which is amazing - I highly recommend it!!) when her guest, Austin Channing Brown, shared this beautiful statement.
It so powerfully demonstrates what this time in history is asking of us, demanding of us, calling us to do. Become better humans.
On so many levels.
I know for me, as I began the work of unpacking my backpack of Privilege, I had to recognize that I'd been turning away from stories of pain and suffering a lot more in recent years, because after dealing with everything happening in my own life, I didn't have the mental and emotional bandwidth left to "deal with them right now."
I’ve had the Privilege of "getting to" tune others’ stories of suffering out if they were too painful and didn't affect me personally. Yikes.
But turning away is an act of separation - even if it’s done in the name of self-preservation. The fact is, I separated myself from the humans on the other end of those injustices and tragedies. I feel tremendous remorse for having closed my heart off in this way.
So, I'm committing to take in more of the painful history, news and stories so I can fill my heart full of compassion...and so I can feel more connected to my brothers and sisters.
This is the work that you and I - all of us - are being called to do:
Turn toward the pain, suffering, injustices...
Allow ourselves to be deeply moved...
Find forgiveness for ourselves and others...
Be inspired and ignited into Right Action.
This is what I help my clients do as they look at the wounded places in their own lives. And this is what we all must do now: face the wounded parts of our society head on so we can actually begin the work of healing them.
It's not easy work or comfortable work, but it's absolutely critical work if we are to survive on this planet together as a species. It's part of our Great Story as humans to discover a way to live in connection rather than in separation.
We’re meant to journey through this life hand in hand.
Foot note: I highly recommend reading Austin Channing Brown's book, I'm Still Here. It's incredibly enlightening, full of powerful examples of ways white people marginalize our Black brothers and sisters, often without meaning to. It was truly eye-opening.
