Photo by Mikael Owunna, “Emem 2018”
All of experience
even the chaos, the rage, the reckoning
emerges in its right season
as love’s best teacher.
– from the poem The Color of Belonging
by Astara
Our Global Unity Event – this wake up call around the globe as so much intense change unfurls – continues in earnest across the planet. The times we find ourselves in are chock full of opportunities to become more authentic, and from there we can be a part of the evolution in consciousness that is painstakingly and beautifully underway. Last week we had a lot of reasons to celebrate, and a lot of reasons to take action to build a better world. Friday was Juneteenth, also called Emancipation Day, reflecting a powerful moment in the lives of Black people, when they were formally freed almost three years after the Emancipation Proclamation.
Our awakening is not a linear process and can be overwhelming and confusing. Our spiritual adventure of life can seem far from beautiful at times. Sometimes our path takes us inward to do our own shadow work. Sometimes our path asks us to stand with another or others; we support them through their pain and suffering, while looking at our part in what is unfolding. Some aspects of our life journey are about slowing down and resting. Other moments our hearts ask us to take action. We are in a collective and individual journey all at once. Right now we are both slowing down and standing up, building muscle for paradox.
In honor of last Friday’s Juneteenth, we want to share resources to create awareness and support the Black Lives Matter movement. We stand in solidarity with our Black brothers and sisters, as well as with all Indigenous and People of Color. The recent killings of James Scurlock, George Floyd, Tony McDade, Sean Reed, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery – and thousands of others not named here – demonstrate the ongoing state-sanctioned violence against black people in the US and around the world. They are horrific tragedies to bear witness. Unfortunately, similar violence against “others” has been going on for centuries and is now still being revealed at an alarming speed all over the world, showing us how much work we need to do. We stand with those rightfully demanding justice, equality, and transformation. We stand with anyone perceived as “other” or “different” everywhere. People of color live with racism every single day, including many of our fellow artists, healers, thought leaders, and friends in the Illuminating Hearts extended community. Black lives matter. Let us evolve this world to be the equitable, just, place we dream it can be. Together through accountability, compassion and loving action we can create the democracy we have always wanted.
“…our anger toward the experience of disempowerment that is going on, whether we’re speaking in terms of the natural world, or in terms of race, or children, or women, or economic justice, we should be angry. And it’s essential that we act. We can’t just sit there gazing at our navel and say it’s all love. Love does not mean that we are passive in the face of harm. I think Martin Luther King Jr. was clear about the relationship between love and justice: Anything that stands in the way of love is unjust. The absence of justice points to the absence of love. So I don’t separate love and justice in this regard, I see them as intimately intertwined. We can become a toy of our anger, or our anger can become an instrument of love.” – Roshi Joan Halifax
On the heels of Juneteenth, this is an excellent time to begin your journey towards facing the long-standing, widespread, and entrenched system of structural oppression of people of color. Real progress requires a sustained and sincere commitment to political, social, and economic racial justice and change. Let us all be part of the soul-ution. We encourage you to get active at any level you can.
Educate yourself about the roots of systemic racism and the history that didn’t make it to our classrooms and textbooks.
- Learn how slavery has shaped all systems in our world
- Discover implications of the tragic Massacre of Black Wall Street (if you have FaceBook, watch Alvin Ailey Dance Theater’s interpretation of that event)
- Understand real estate redlining and racial segregation
- Watch one or more of the educational documentaries and movies highlighted to lift Black voices and stories to further our awareness of our place in racism and privilege on Netflix, Amazon Prime and other entertainment streaming platforms.
Explore new ways to understand othering and belonging.
- Explore The Othering & Belonging Institute.
- Paint a new canvas of belonging from your heart, instead of just your mind, read Astara’s poem The Color of Belonging.
- Read our Soul-lutions blog about how to harness social justice anger for wise action.
Get involved. Speak out and share what you learn.
- Check out the People’s Supper Guidebook for creative ideas and helpful resources to engage with others on People, Politics, & Reweaving the Social Fabric.
- Donate to important organizations furthering the work of the Black Lives Matter movement and racial justice.
- Engage in everyday conversations with friends and family. Stand up for black lives. Share resources and ideas.
Borrowing words from Jon Stewart, we must address the anguish of a people, the pain of being a people who built this country through forced labor.
It is your very ordinary hourly and daily choices that make the most impact for the future we desire.
The beauty inside of each of us and around us is medicine for these times. See the beauty in one another and inside of each ordinary moment. Be willing to see with new eyes. This summer explore what you want to take responsibility for and surrender to, as well as vision what you want to create in your life and in the world. What do you find beautiful? What breaks your heart? Let these cues be your guide.
Slow down. Pay attention. Own your story. Get educated. Learn inclusive language. Listen. Take a different perspective. Empower yourself and others. Speak up. Embrace the imperfect. Focus on accountability not shame. Life begins at the edge of your comfort zone.
Together, we’ve got this.
