Racism, anti-mask, and cancel culture
What needs healing, finding compassion for our community, becoming one with nature, happiness meditations
Hi friend,
Imagine boiling a pot of water.
We’ve filled our pot with lukewarm water, placed it on the stove with the temperature on high, and wait patiently for it to warm up. As the water comes to a boil, we notice tiny bubbles beginning to percolate. These pockets of air had been in the water all along - it just took a bit of heat to show up.
This is what is happening in our country right now.
White supremacy, the struggle to wear a face mask, and even cancel culture are just a few of the things that the heat of the election, this presidency, and coronavirus have revealed. These intentions have been inside of many Americans this entire time, whether we’d like to believe it or not.
If we are to heal this country (and frankly, the greater world), we have to go into the root of the issue. Underneath the surface of these erratic actions lie deep-seated unresolved fear, anxiety, and anger that we must address if we are to bring about any positive change.
Racism: fear of being diminished and further silenced, especially impacting middle America. Many of these communities were left behind as metropolitan coastal cities boomed with technology growth. Racism doesn’t discriminate and we have ethnic groups all fighting one another in hopes that bringing another group down will uplift the other.
Inability to wear a face mask: anxiety of having to navigate a broken healthcare system. Public health has never been on the forefront or a mandate for many Americans who’ve had to navigate the privatized system alone for so long.
Cancel culture: extreme anger towards built-up injustice seeking others to also feel the same pains.
What feeds these actions and feelings is something even deeper - the feeling of not having control. When we feel like we don’t have a grasp of the future, we spiral into thoughts of powerlessness, hopelessness, and fear. We live life as a reactor vs. actor.
If we can’t empower ourselves to find abundance and power in our every day, how can we expect others to do so? Why do we expect others to heal so that we can finally find peace, happiness, and joy in our own lives?
No matter how many friends we delete off Facebook or eject ourselves from contentious spaces, we cannot turn a blind eye to the human suffering that is happening all around us. Just because we don’t see it, doesn’t mean the pains don’t exist.
Everyone deserves liberation from their pains. Even those we struggle to find space for. And it starts with ourselves. There is abundance around all of us to find healing.
How might we find abundance and power in our lives so that we can show up for our greater community?
The power of compassion
Recently, Sam Harris sat down to do a podcast with James R. Doty, a clinical professor in the Department of Neurosurgery at Stanford University and the director of the Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education at Stanford University School of Medicine.
A deep discussion on many topics, including the importance of community and our broken healthcare system here in the US. A few takeaways:
Nobody is ever “self-made”. Whether it's from generational wealth or through education sponsored by taxes, we benefit from our community whether we like to admit it or not.
Healthcare has a dangerous profit model. When privatized, there is no incentive to reduce illness and the people we should scrutinize are not the doctors - but the investors above them with selfish intentions.
Healthcare is a right, not a privilege. Without being fundamentally healthy, people cannot work and build up personal wealth.
Money does not buy happiness. Regardless of wealth, we all have our struggles and money doesn’t wash away our troubles.
Becoming one with nature
“Biophilic design can reduce stress, enhance creativity and clarity of thought, improve our well-being and expedite healing; as the world population continues to urbanize, these qualities are ever more important. Theorists, research scientists, and design practitioners have been working for decades to define aspects of nature that most impact our satisfaction with the built environment. ‘14 Patterns of Biophilic Design’ articulates the relationships between nature, human biology and the design of the built environment so that we may experience the human benefits of biophilia in our design applications.”
How architecture can weave together with nature to help create a more enjoyable environment.
Happiness meditations
Dr. Laurie Santos runs one of the most popular classes at Yale exploring the science of happiness (The Science of Well-Being), and now she has a meditation series on Soundcloud to bring you a bit more happiness the next time you’re sitting for meditation.
As always, thanks for reading!
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Have a beautiful day!
Metta (loving-kindness),
Steven
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