“In matters of truth and justice, there is no difference between large and small problems, for issues concerning the treatment of people are all the same.” ~Albert Einstein
The US Supreme court upheld LGBTQ employment protection rights last week, a landmark decision and an indication that slow but sure progress is being made on the equality front.
For the past couple of weeks I’ve chosen to share my reflections on the world’s current chaos-cluster through a filter of power washing green gunk from outdoor surfaces.
Racism and discrimination may be the greenest gunk of all.
Martin Luther King, Jr. fought it. So did Gandhi, and Mother Teresa, and Jesus and countless others whose names we don’t know.
Thousands of lives have been lost to systemic prejudice and inequities, whether due to politics, or religion, or skin colour or gender identification, and we don’t know most of their names either.
I hold no illusions that there will be a metaphorical power fix to the recent racial unrest or the pandemic—both are alive and spreading—nor that I’ll live to see the results of the efforts expended by millions of people over hundreds of years, the collective efforts of which have culminated in this moment.
But I do understand human energy, and this is a turning point. Like a pot full of boiling water, the world is releasing steam.
Hopefully, we are at the beginning of some significant long-term changes in our political, health care, business, law enforcement and judicial systems.
It’ll take longer than any of us wants and many people feel impotent to contribute to any lasting change in any meaningful way.
But you can.
You can choose to believe that all things work together for good. In time.
You can stay as calm and open and accepting of the world as it is now—without condemning or condoning it—while still holding space in your heart and mind that this apparent boiling point will pass. In time.
You can hold fast to the knowledge that apparent chaos always precedes new growth and higher forms of evolution. In time.
And you can continue to practice patience and self-care.
Because if you haven’t been practicing while isolating, it’s time to begin.
The world needs everyone’s efforts now.
