Reminders As We Dismantle Systemic Racism

Photo by Maria Oswalt.

Reminder: we’re in this for the long haul.

We’ve been living in systems of oppression for millennia, and the racial oppression in the US for centuries. Collectively, we are at the beginning of a New Paradigm, the Aquarian Age, which is a shift away from duality and hierarchical structure and into equality and oneness. The Aquarian Age spans the next 2,000 years.

Knowing this is the work of the collective, it’s too easy to brush aside and hand the responsibility over to someone else. But we all play a part in the tapestry of oneness.

We are at a critical time to dismantle our own racism and prejudice and inquire how we’ve perpetuated oppression and/or how we’ve internalized oppression.

It takes a combination of inner work and outer action.

This isn’t going to be solved this week.

Reminder: we all process in our own time.

If you’re at full capacity, take time for yourself. When you’ve refueled your own cup, allocate time and energy to the inner and outer work.

As with all personal and spiritual development, keep moving forward with the knowledge that you will be uncomfortable. You will be facing your shadows. And the only way out is through.

Reminder: When it is time to act, let your actions come from integrity.

If it’s coming from a place of guilt, it’s a sure way to lead to resentment and burnout.

We are in this for the long haul. Keep taking care of yourself in this collective movement to uplift our fellow Black humans.

In conversations this week, a few other themes have come to light.

Shame and Connection.

Reminder: Connection is Key

There’s many conflicting voices on social media about the “right” thing to do and many voices that are shaming each other. Like guilt, motivating people through shame will only perpetuate oppression. It keeps us feeling small and feeling less than. Shame causes us to shrink, hide, and avoid the one thing that dissolves shame: vulnerability through connection.

Connection to each other’s humanness is part of how we remember that we are all one, and if you’re hurting, I’m hurting.

Connection is how we break down barriers of us vs them.

Connection is how we eradicate the fear caused by separation, the fear that perpetuates scarcity, and the fear that perpetuates oppression.