I had originally typed up a blog this month to focus on ways to deal with the pandemic and bring structure into our chaotic lives, when we are trying to balance being a mom or parent, working, and the many other “hats” many of us wear.
I recorded a podcast on that topic here with my friend Patricia Brooks, who leads the Discovering Courage podcast. If you haven’t heard of it, you should check it out! Patricia is one of the boldest people I know and is living the best out of life every day, as she left her “normal” life to move to France. I admire her for many reasons, and she is an amazing, positive, and influential person! You should check out her Courage Catalyst website and Facebook page to learn more about how you can have courage amidst the challenges we are facing right now.
That said, as I mentioned, it was my original plan for this blog to focus on that topic, and then the world changed in the last week and all that, along with most everything else, just seems like a much lower priority now. A week ago, people were stressed about ways to keep their kids engaged, deal with the physical, emotional, financial and other pressures of the pandemic, and they still are, but it doesn’t seem to matter as much now in the broad scheme of things when we are faced again with new examples of living in a world where there is so much hate and negativity.
My heart breaks for George Floyd’s family, as well as all others who have been a victim of racism, police brutality and the many other ways that human beings unfairly mistreat other human beings. There is always some other perspective to these situations, but nothing justifies this kind of cruelty. It wasn’t meant to be this way, and it isn’t fair to live in a world where you have to be scared to go outside of your house. As much as I can say that, I know that I don’t have to live that way, and I really can’t identify with those that do.
I don’t personally think that violent riots are the way to solve the problem, but understand why people are angry, and this is the way they are trying to get the public to open their eyes, because for whatever reason, it hasn’t been enough to see innocent lives lost. This isn’t a new problem. It has been there all along.
What could be the purpose of this, as I reflect on the “pain with purpose” belief that I so fervently believe? Is it that it took such a horrible event to make people get up and do something? I am sure the family of those impacted by these events may not agree, and I don’t blame them. At the end of the day, I can come up with some assumptions, but I really don’t know why.
I may be naive but I believe there are still some good people out there. I don’t believe that all white people are racist, nor do I believe that all police officers are bad people. Some of them are though, and just one is one too many. This is far from the first example of this type of situation, and we all have an obligation to try to make it the last.
That should be our priority, all of us, in whatever way each of us have any ability to influence it. We may not know how to do it, but we can start by acknowledging it and being more conscious of our own behaviors and examples of unconscious bias. We have to start by trying, in whatever way we know how.
As God’s children, we are made to love each other, and the color of our skin, our economic backgrounds, our social status, and any other factor shouldn‘t matter. John 15:12 says “My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.”
I pray that we all learn how to demonstrate love, in whatever war that means for each of us, for peace and healing for the families of those impacted, and that we can learn as a society how to get through this and live in the way that God intended.
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