I sat down to write my about my Friday favorites and I just couldn’t do it and feel good about it. I haven’t been able to get last night’s events in Nice off my mind all day today. I read the CNN coverage and it was horrific. I’m like, “Really? Again? How? Why?” Paris, San Bernardino, Orlando, Istanbul, Dallas, Nice…
And then I watched my friend Leslie Ann‘s Facebook live broadcast about a instance of racism she encountered this morning on her daily Starbucks run and it left me in tears.
Most of the time I think to myself that it’s best to stay away from commentary on current events, politics, religion, etc on my blog but I do feel strongly about writing on things like personal growth, choosing love, being kind and becoming the most loving, bright, self-actualized version of yourself.
If you don’t watch Leslie Ann’s video, the summary is that two white people made racial slurs to a young black woman during some sort of altercation while everyone in Starbucks continued to look at their phones, read the paper and pretend it wasn’t happening. Leslie Ann and a few others followed the girl, who was crying, out to her car and provided comfort and kind words.
This world is broken. There is so much hatred and judgment and intolerance. Trust me, I know it’s overwhelming to think about. And I’m sure you’re with me in wondering, “How can I make a difference?” But we can’t get numb and we can’t turn our backs. We must continue on as warriors for peace and love by being living examples of it every single day of our lives.
I’m not encouraging us all to sit around and cry this weekend. I’ve had a good week and overall I feel very happy but this state of things makes me very sad on another level. I love this quote from Wayne Dyer and when I start to feel helpless I think of it and remember that we’re intended to feel good.
“People say how can they feel good when there is so much bad going around? With so many people out there who are being mean to each other. My sister-in-law has cancer. Soldiers are dying from explosions; my response to that is you can’t feel bad enough to make someone else’s life better. You can’t get confused enough to un-confuse one person. You can’t get sick enough to heal one person out there so anytime you are feeling anything other than the good or God, what you are doing is contributing to rather than encouraging others to reconnect to their source.”
What I am saying is that we have to stand up for each other and love each other. We have to be awake and aware of how we are living our lives and how we are treating others. Are we walking examples of love, courage, compassion, acceptance and peace? Are we taking a stand for our values and beliefs?
Last weekend in my Saturday morning class we chanted the Om Shanti Mantra for a minute to begin and end class. And we’ll be doing it again tomorrow.
Sending you all love. Om shanti peace.
Beautiful words and just what we ALL need right now. As an adoptive mum to a remarkable boy from Ethiopia, racism has become very personal for me as it should be for all of us. The events in Nice are a horrific reminder that our world is broken and understanding, acceptance, tolerance and love are the only things that will fix it.
I haven’t heard that quote by Wayne Dyer, but the message is so beautiful. In times of darkness, we must be the light. We can’t let the hate and suffering in the drag us down and make us lose hope. My mom always says “find the heroes” in the tragedies. Those who looked the face of evil and hate in the eye and maintained their humanity. An article was written by a women who was in the Paris attacks and she highlighted the fact that, when she wasn’t sure if the next bullet would be the one to end her life, she wasn’t feeling hate for her attacker, but love for her family, friends, and those close to her. And, even in the chaos, people were throwing themselves over each other to protect each other. I hope that all these tragedies encourage people to honestly make a change and accept, respect, and love one another. The lives lost should not be in vain.
xxMeah
I totally agree with you, Jen. It’s a sad and confusing situation we have on our hands and I don’t know what to do. I agree that we can’t let ourselves become numb to all of this and that continuing to love and be kind to one another will only move us in the right direction. Love the om shanti chant you shared 🙂
Thank you so much for this. There is so much happening right now and while I understand why bloggers and public figure stay away from politics on their sites, I do think it’s important to acknowledge and engage in some way. I love your approach and your message in this post.
I so appreciate you sharing your thoughts and love by posting this. I’m a big fan of your blog because you are so real and talk about things that have more depth than a typical fitness/food blogger. You saying that we can’t become numb and do nothing really resonated with me because it’s so easy to give up inside and feel like this is just how things are going to be in the world… thanks for the encouragement!
“[Y]ou can’t feel bad enough to make someone else’s life better.” Such a powerful reminder that continuing to spread love and joy is the easiest way to make a difference when the world seems to have gone mad. Thank you for acknowledging the impact of current events rather than shying away from difficult subjects because “it’s not my thing.”
what a good reminder that you must try to pull good from bad. i am so sorry that person had to go through that at starbucks. and so angry that people just let it happen ! but i think everyone is also scared now a days that crazy idiots all have guns all over. i am in NE Ohio and praying for peace in CLE during the convention. my city has had such high highs recently and we are all so proud. i dont want anything to bring that down or a put a damper on it. its hard not to be fearful though. i will say a few om shanti’s for all. More tolerance, less guns, as underneath it all we all bleed red.
I’ve also been repeating a yoga mantra, one we used to end class with. I’ve been finding the words very comforting. I live in Dallas and it’s been a rough week.
Lokah Samastah Sukhino Bhavantu
Om Shanti Shanti Shantihi
(May all beings everywhere be happy and free
Om peace, peace, perfect peace)
Yes, that is one of my all time favorites. <3
I could never have stood in that Starbucks & just ignored that! It’s like a visceral reaction in me… I absolutely hate racism. It sickens me, & I can’t keep my mouth shut when I witness it. Just like how they try to teach our kids in school not to ignore instances of bullying. We must stand up for those who are being mistreated. We must be love warriors! Great post, Jen. XO
Thank you Julie. And good for you for standing up for what you believe. xx
Beautiful and very true perspective, Jen