A Love Letter
(originally posted on Facebook August 27, 2021)
Today in Mark Nepo’s The Book of Awakening:
I cannot tell if the day
is ending, or the world, or if
the secret of secrets is inside me again. – Anna Akhmatova
As I was called to reread All About Love by bell hooks, I am experiencing all of the feels. The Black Yoga Teachers Alliance conference last weekend reminded me why I am on my path. Seeing my friend Candace Mickens last week reminded me that we can all be at different places on that path, with kind discernment, and without judgment.
Judgemental (def.) - having or displaying an excessively critical point of view. The judgemental beliefs run thick. They permeate and expand and are sticky like the slime from Ghostbusters. Judgment thrives off of binary and dichotomous thinking. Judgment sprouts from having to be “right.”
COVID – mask or not, physical distance or not, vaccine or not?
Afghanistan – 100,000 saved lives or botched withdrawal?
Ayiti (Haiti) – how many have suffered or have you noticed?
Voting Rights – or voter suppression?
Climate Crises – or hoax?
Health disparities – or healing crises?
It’s the OR that’s getting to me. Where is the and/both? Where is the and/there are several layers?
Many in the yoga and wellness spaces are saying that we are in a spiritual war, that this is spiritual warfare. In part, yes. I’ll move away from the language of war and violence to say that these times are expressing the spiritual crisis that has always been beneath the surface. Many in these spaces are in the thick of the OR too, even as they purport to speak to compassion and be enlightened.
We are all in a moral, ethical, spiritual upheaval and reboot. Thoughts and prayers are not enough. Look at yourself – are you just complaining? Are you actively helping? Where are your time and money going? What are you prepared to do?
I am pulling back from social media and getting to work and rest. I’ll still be around to let you know about upcoming events and workshops.
This is my love letter to you.