There's no time like the present to embrace Possibility over Fear.
But possibility doesn't include denial. Not in any area of our lives.
Denial does not deliver us to transformation.
Truth delivers us to transformation.
The truth is too many black men and women have been killed, abused and harassed because of their skin color.
I'm sorry that property is being destroyed.
But I'm more sorry for all the black men and women who have experienced countless acts of violence because of the color of their skin.
A friend of mine took her daughter out for a walk and to take some photos of her beautiful girl. She went to a common area IN HER NEIGHBORHOOD and because she is black, a neighbor called the homeowners association to report a "suspicious person" in their neighborhood. She fuckIng lives there! I can't begin to understand the outrage she is feeling!
I'm all about Love. I'm all about possibility. I'm all about focusing on the change I want to be and see in the world, rather than all the violence and injustice that I DON'T want.
But I DON'T want to be the person preaching LOVE AND LIGHT, while Hitler hauls off my Jewish neighbors.
We have all been conditioned to believe that black people are less valuable. Even if, like me, intellectually, you reject that belief, here's why it's not that simple.
For those in the US, we've been born into a country that is founded on the right of white people (mostly men) to steal, enslave and kill to get what they want.
It began with taking the land, and all within it, of the beautiful indigenous people that were here before our European forefathers. Our forefathers created their "new world" at the expense of others. Because they believed their right to create that new world was superior to the rights of those who already lived and raised families in this world.
What's happening today is uncomfortable and destructive, that's a shame. But it's more of a shame to harass, judge, incarcerate and kill people because of their skin color.
I believe in the Possibility of equality.
Equality is practiced by individuals. We practice it - or don't - daily.
I'm living in the Possibility that one-by-one we'll stop the subtle and not-so-subtle forms of racism that strip equality away. That we'll use our inner power to correct our own biases and spread our LOVE AND LIGHT EQUALLY. I'm committed to it. I'm not doing it perfectly. But I can't be silent. So I'm risking saying something "wrong." Inadvertently waving my white privilege flag when I didn't even mean to.
Because the unraveling of centuries of racism doesn't happen overnight. But it can happen. And I have to be part of the unraveling. There's no "Opt-out button for this one. That's the possibility I believe in. If you're with me, tell me. ✊💜
If you want an amazing book, that's even an easy read, get Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America.
If you're not with me, I won't engage in "converting you" or arguing with you. That's not my mission in the world.
But being silent so I don't "upset anyone" doesn't feel like an option either.
My mission is empowering people, from the inside out. Because it is the loving inner-authority we each have that is pure, powerful and loving. To be free we must learn how to unravel the distortions and conditioning of our culture, upbringing and life circumstances. When we do, we experience the unstoppable power of our truth, we are free. Free to take risks (like writing this email) and empowered to create the lives we dream of. We choose Love and Possibility over Fear.
In love and possibility,
Brenda