Love and fear. Every moment, we have a choice. Will we choose love of fear?
Transforming fear into love supports us in becoming more skillful at embracing whatever arises in this moment I stand in solidarity with those who are seeking justice for the murders of people of color, and I am heartbroken over the deaths of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and countless others. I am holding their loved ones and all who are suffering in my heart and sending them wishes for peace.
Transform fear and hatred into trust and love…
Love or Fear?
As a counselor and coach, I am committed to ongoing development of multicultural competence. I endeavor to create an inclusive, safe, and welcoming space for all in my personal and work spaces, appreciate diversity, stand for equity, and speak out against discrimination and injustice, even when my voice shakes (and it does).
How can we be skillful at embracing diversity and transforming the fear and hatred into trust and love? How can we cultivate genuine caring for all people, regardless of the color of their skin?
No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite.
–Nelson Mandela
Embracing Diversity with Love
How skilled are you at embracing diversity? Peace begins with each of us. We can all begin by committing more deeply to our mindfulness and loving-kindness practices. By cultivating loving-kindness, first offering loving-kindness to ourselves, expanding it to someone for whom we care deeply, expanding it to someone with whom we have conflict, and then expanding it to this whole world in need of healing and peace. Whisper silently to yourself the words that bring peace and healing: May we all dwell in the heart. May we all be free from suffering. May we all be happy. May we all be at peace.
The most frequent expression I’ve heard this week has been, “I don’t know what to do or say.” Can you begin by creating a clear intention for embracing diversity? Sometimes I don’t know what to say either, but when I make space for quiet contemplation, ideas often emerge, as imperfect as they are. Cultivating a personal practice of being more kind and loving to others and embracing diversity is a significant action we can all take. Imagine if everyone in the whole world did this daily what the impact may be.
Raising the world’s children to be kind and loving and to practice embracing diversity and inclusion is another powerful contribution we can make—whether you are a teacher, a parent, or a friend to children. We can all also take action by speaking out against all expressions of racism in our spaces.
And we can each decide to learn more about racism, examine and become more aware of our own implicit biases (we all have them), and for those of us who are white, we can develop a willingness to more deeply understand the impact of white privilege in this whole equation. We can all do better. We must.
Maya Angelou once said that she asks people who speak cruelly about others to leave her house, and her words inspire me when I need to speak up. I try to continually practice speaking up, especially when my voice shakes.
I’m convinced that the negative has power. It lives. And if you allow it to perch in your house, in your mind, in your life, it can take you over. So when the rude or cruel thing is said—the lambasting, the gay bashing, the hate—I say, “Take it all out of my house!” Those negative words climb into the woodwork and into the furniture, and the next thing you know they’ll be on my skin.
– Maya Angelou
We are all being called to be kinder and more loving, be skillful at embracing diversity and inclusion, and to transform fear and hatred into trust and love. I invite all of us to make time to contemplate the role of each of our unique voices in creating a kinder, more loving, and more inclusive world. How can you integrate an attitude of kindness, inclusion, and diversity in whatever you’re doing in your personal life and your work? How can we all speak up for inclusion and diversity and against injustice?
Ya’ll know how much I love birds. This week is Black Birders week. You can click here to learn more about it on Audubon’s website.
This week, I’m following @BlackAFinSTEM on Twitter, because they’re gathering Black scientists and promoting Black Birders week.
We should all be reading books by Black authors. During the pandemic, two of my favorite books by Black authors have been J. Drew Lanham’s Home Place: Memoirs of a Colored Man’s Love Affair with Nature and Tayari Jones’ An American Marriage.
Be sure to check out my upcoming events below. I’m offering a Mindful Journaling online workshop next week. If there’s enough interest, I’ll offer a 4-week version of this in July. If you’re interested, but the time of day for the June workshop isn’t good for you, drop me a note and let me know when would be a better time to try to include you!
Peace,
Jen