Ignorance is Bliss, Knowledge is Power.
I didn't know what I didn't know.
George Floyd's video-recorded murder was the tipping point that lifted my veil of ignorance. I have unwittingly worn this veil and it has hid the complex, discriminatory and oppressive societal systems overwhelmingly impacting Black people in America. Suddenly and shockingly I'm full-on aware of what I have had the luxury to not recognize, and to not need to.
It's painful and mind-numbing, in part because it has been in plain view this whole time. I wasn't aware, like I am now, of how our societal systems skew so overarchingly to benefit White people. For my entire life. I wasn't aware because I have had the luxury of privilege. When I was a kid growing up in the 70s and 80s, on some level I was aware of educational discrimination because Black children were bussed into my White neighborhood to attend its school. But I didn't really consider what was or wasn't available in Black neighborhoods or its impact on Black lives. I wasn't aware that my country's system of policing was born out of slavery. How did I never know that? I also didn't know that our prison system has skyrocketed in its population of prisoners exponentially over few decades. I was aware of its Black majority, but I didn't take the time to investigate why. I didn’t know that statistics show that 1 in 3 black men will serve time in jail, well over the statistical average for any other race. I never made the connection about how our prison system parallels slavery. I did not know that my black neighbors, parents of my son's classmates, have been stopped by cops for no reason, in my "idyllic" small town. I wasn't aware of how it was received by my Black neighbors and their children to have almost exclusively White teachers. As a mother of a Black son, I never actually considered how this might impact my own child. MY OWN CHILD.
I wasn’t aware of how skewed the entire system is in favor of White skin. I wasn't aware of the trauma incurred in Black bodies and how it has been passed down through generations and perpetuated in our society.
But I am now. The veil is lifted.
Knowledge is power. With awareness, change is possible.
I have read, listened to, and watched information over the past few weeks that has opened my eyes to what I wasn't aware of.
I want to be an ally for my Black friends, neighbors, family members. I want there to be racial equality and justice. I want to be an antiracist. I want to take steps in support of this.
Awareness is fundamental to change. It is like a light, switched on. Once the light of awareness is lit, it is FULL ON. It is not partial, and it cannot be switched off. It shines on what is true, and what is not. What it shines on can be ignored and avoided for some time, but the light that is shining cannot be extinguished, and at some point what it is shining on needs to be faced directly if we are to live in our wholeness. This, to me, seems to be what is happening now in our country and across the globe. The denial, suppression and avoidance of truth is being faced directly. The light is full on the truth that has been obscured by systemic racism.
We realize--often quite suddenly--that our sense of self, which has been formed and constructed out of our ideas, beliefs and images, is not really who we are.
Adyashanti
Change can be messy. It can be uncomfortable. It can be a radical act to begin to step away from the familiar and into the unknown, even if you know in your heart it is important and necessary.
One of my favorite quotes from Joe Dispensa: Change will probably entail a bit of discomfort, some inconvenience, a break from a predictable routine and a period of not knowing.
Once aware of what we are agreeing to in our personal lives, relationships and systems, we can align consciousness with our actions. We can choose right action. We can live the change as it is happening.
The energy locked up in our conformity is liberated for our benefit and conscious use.
Toko-pa Turner
Be the change you want to see in the world.
Gandhi
What are you now aware of? What right action are you willing to take in your life? Feel free to share here.
In liberation of my own being, may I benefit others,
Mara
