Sitting in Discomfort

A friend today asked me how I was doing.  After a pause, I shared I am feeling tense, uneasy and uncertain. And, upon further reflection at the time of this writing, I am also feeling sad, angry and fear for our society. My inaction, willingness to live as privilege with little understanding of the cost, and ignorance are part of my anger and sadness. How about you?  What are you feeling?

Since I first glimpsed racial divisiveness, it has intuitively felt unjust and immoral, tugging at a part of me that knows this intuitively. I recognize this dividing plays on a basic human instinct rooted in fear. We have often focused on differences, not similarities.  My privilege is at the expense of a lack of equality, opportunity, and basic human rights for so many other people – either directly or indirectly.

We have moved to more a divided class system. We have elected leaders who are ‘not large enough to hold both sides of the conversation.’  We have passed a tax reform that primarily benefits corporations and upper income households. We treat people that reside here, contributing to our economy, but lack proper documentation despite years of trying, as less than those born here. We are a society that was based on slavery and, as a nation, we have allowed the ‘throes of elite to manipulate structure’ including depleting natural resources and dividing humans.  We have not been willing to understand the ongoing implications of racial, and other discrimination.  We have a healthcare system that gives preference to privilege.  Yes, ‘we’; I intentionally chose we given the fabric of our being knows we are connected.

 We are also a compassionate people, willing to go beyond to help where needed, especially in times of crisis. We are giving people. We can dialogue from a ‘seek to understand’ perspective. We are willing to see multiple perspectives and to take action. I will never know what it is like to be black, or Native, or, or, or…  I also feel paralyzed, and am willing to sit in this discomfort, to wait patiently, and impatiently, for intuition to prompt me. And when it does, to take action for meaningful change.  For while I fervently trust that love will win, it always does, action is also important and often necessary. Such is this time.

Let’s try sitting in the discomfort, feeling the varied emotions, and, when prompted, act from a place of non-reaction, compassion and peace to impact lasting change.