Never in my life have I woken up daily with such a heaviness on my heart. I know this topic is beyond uncomfortable. It is hard for me to even sit here and put these words together, but I refuse to be a bystander and stand silently as this happens. I think to myself... why am I offended when the President says, "China" the way that he does? (You know the mocking tone that I am talking about) Why am I offended when yet again, a black person is mistreated, beaten and murdered by the police? Why do I feel incredible pain and sadness each year as I teach about the Holocaust? I am not Chinese, I am not black and I am not Jewish. However, these things cut me so deeply because I am a human with the capacity to put myself in other peoples shoes. I am a human with empathy. Empathy is defined as the ability to understand and share the feelings of another.
If you are reading this on my Facebook feed it's because at some point we went to school together, worked together, danced together, I taught your child or we are related. Each and every person on my page is unique, special and valuable. The people on my page are of all races, religions, ethnicities, genders, sexual orientation, ages, beliefs and backgrounds. And I love it. I love seeing posts from my Lakeland people, many of whom love to fish, hunt or go mudding. I love seeing posts from all of my dance friends and watching them Salsa, Bachata and Cha-Cha-Cha the night away! It is beautiful. I love seeing posts from all of my friends who love their animals: horses, cats, dogs etc. I love seeing families grow and children grow up right in front of my eyes through the magic of Facebook. I love seeing the weddings, the travels, the graduations, the first and last day of school pictures. I love that on Friday my feed is full of delicious breads made by hand.
All of you are so different at a glance, but yet at the core you are all so similar. You are all people who love your families, friends, spouses and children and are just living life the best you know how.
A few months ago I cam across this TedTalk video. An African American musician named Daryl Davis became friends with a high ranking member of the KKK. They knew each other for many years and eventually the KKK member had a change of heart due to their friendship, and left the organization. When Daryl was asked to explain "how" he did it, he explained that it was through many years of conversation. It is through conversation, sharing experiences, opening up and listening to one another that we start to see how much more we have in common than not.
Let's show each other empathy. Speak out about injustices happening to people. Listen to what other people are going through without first formulating a response in your head. Challenge yourself to actively listen to understand. In my opinion it is not only the right thing to do but it is the human thing to do. We cannot change everyone but if each of us does our part we can make a difference. If each of us stay silent then we are just as guilty. As Martin Luther King Jr. said, "In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends."
Thank you for reading.
I am Sally and this is "Where I Find Myself"
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