Do you think it’s a coincidence that George Floyd died because he couldn't breathe (under the hateful knee of a police officer), during the same time that the Coronavirus (that potentially makes it hard to breath), sweeps our nation and the world? Do you think it’s a coincidence that while we were all sheltering in place, the earth’s lungs finally got a chance to breathe and heal? If you believe in a rational power greater than yourself, then the answer is very simple. These events have forced us to wake up and pay attention. The Universe and it's Rational Power is begging us to be better humans.
As someone who has suffered from asthma since the age of three, I have a pretty clear idea of what it’s like to gasp for air and not know if you’re going to make it. Not being able to breathe can kill you. It’s that simple. Breath is Life, and when we maliciously take that life away from anything, it goes against the laws of Nature and the meaning of being human. When we selfishly pollute the planet, when we wound each other emotionally, or kill each other physically, when we discriminate against others and believe that their lives, their breath, is less valuable than our own, there will be consequences. The Great Nature, the Creator, God, an All Knowing and Rational power, will make adjustments to all of creation so that we can thrive in a healthier, more harmonious way, and understand that we truly are equal as a human race, and the only way towards real justice is to rid ourselves of all hate, so only love and respect for all of creation remain.
I can’t breathe. Who has taken your breath away and who’s breath have you taken away?
It’s easy for any of us to say that we don’t accept or condone racism or exclusion of those of any skin color. It's easy to write it, to say it, even to outwardly demonstrate standing in solidarity. But can we BE it, not just on one day, but every day? I've received plenty of those emails this week, and it's easy to see which ones vibrate with sincerity and heart. As a POC I have experienced discrimination on many levels; however, I do not pretend to understand the depths of this crisis, nor the pain that is arising in such raw ways right now, but if we are to truly stop the inequality that perpetuates the “us” and “them," then we have to look at the hatred we ALL carry. We are lying to ourselves and others if we believe that we don’t contribute to racism and discrimination. By saying we don't condone something is also implying that we're not doing it. Now is the time to pause, reflect, listen, educate ourselves, and act in support of a just and equitable society by transforming ourselves.
Making noise can ignite peaceful and effective change, and can certainly begin to shift the external systems that demoralize, diminish and cause unjust pain. Without strong policy that will serve the entirety of the community, statements and speeches mean nothing. We can talk about equity forever, but they are empty words without a change in the way resources are divided and distributed in our city and all cities. But this can't be where it ends if we are to create lasting changes.
I know in my deepest being that cultivating the energy and power of Love, ALWAYS makes things better for me and the people around me. It’s especially difficult to do something that is quiet and more subdued, because, on the one hand, it doesn’t feel like you’re doing much or making a sweeping action for change. It also doesn’t draw attention to the fact that you’re doing something. And all of us want to be seen as part of the solution, and not part of the problem.
If we keep believing we are not part of the problem and only part of the solution, we as a society won’t get very far. It is hypocritical to say that none of us has any racism or discrimination. This hate is unfortunately part of the human condition, and we can only recognize to what degree we still have it when we are DEEPLY honest with ourselves. I recently asked my students a difficult question. It was difficult in many ways, but one I also participated in:
“Can you recognize the part of you that creates separation? ..the part of you that has even a minor stance of “us “ and “them”? Are you willing to relinquish the dissimilar to acknowledge the unity, that we are created equal, and the inherent oneness that we all truly share as one human race?".
This isn't a process that can be resolved in one moment, or even many. We have been conditioned by parents, teachers, society, and our own belief systems generated from that education. It will take an ongoing willingness to see ourselves more objectively, not by judging or shaming ourselves or others, but by witnessing those places of hatred in our hearts and learning ways in which to transform it. Striving for what is right, for equality, for justice, can look many different ways, and each of us must choose a path that brings more harmony and peace or we are simply adding to the problem. This is a universal teaching that comes from a deep place in the spiritual heart, a place that holds a Truth beyond religions, beyond race, beyond the circumstances or situations of the world. We can find its trace in every culture.
This is something we CAN do each and every day within ourselves. These changes, though difficult to look at, are so vital to our progress forward. The microcosm is the macrocosm. The individual impacts the collective and the collective impacts the individual. We can’t forget the truth of that--ever.
May we grow together, into deeper empathy, deeper love, deeper inclusiveness, deeper respect, because that's what it will take to create the world we want to live in.
Love for the journey,
Anisha