As a young black woman, I feel as though I am being spread pretty thin lately. All day, I spend my time either finding ways that I can continue to help the world progress, or I spend my time feeling stuck as a result of the world today. I find myself often contemplating what life means while living in this world at this time.
I have briefly talked about injustices in a past post, but, the truth is talking and doing things from the sidelines isn’t enough at the moment, it is only the start.
I feel like every time that something bad happens, there is an immediate rush to cover it up or pacify it with some good news. Right now, there is an overwhelmingly strong vibe that people want the world to go back to the way it was. With all the “good” things going on, it is easy to say that bad things pass, and then we forget.
After talking out a lot of my feelings and being as transparent as I can, I can confidently say, I don’t want to forget, and I don’t want these feelings to pass without resolve.
One thing that I wanted to make abundantly clear is that everything that we are feeling is valid- the good and bad are just a result of our past, and in every moment, we are making decisions that will one day turn into our past. I want to make the point that we don’t need to forget about the world, our past, or dread what the future might hold. We need to change what we can and accept what we can’t. Even though we might get overwhelmed by the amount of cleaning up there is to do, I know that it is worth it.
No matter what you believe in, I believe that we should all take time to do the following, in order to gain/ regain footing and reflect on ourselves and the world around us.
(A quick disclaimer, I am a young adult who is just trying to navigate the world today, these are things that I think we should all try to do/ practice)
- Be nice to yourself and watch how compassion for others just seeps out of you.
- Think about ways that you can execute change, and do them (no matter how small your efforts are, good intention saves the soul).
- Trust that with an open mind, things will come to you in due time.
- Want more for yourself, in terms of personal growth and happiness.
- Look into ego death, and think about ways you can incorporate this idea to help correct your self-hate, or hatred that you have for others.
- Find someone to talk to whether it be a mental health professional, a close friend, or a family member (they don’t have to necessarily agree with you, but sometimes talking to someone and receiving feedback helps develop new ideas and helps facilitate compassion towards others.
- Accept when you are wrong and think about how much you learned from the experience. Take pride in being able to see your faults, and wanting to correct them (rule of thumb I go by: if you’re being defensive in a situation you’re probably wrong or are closing your mind instead of listening and bettering yourself in the long run).
- Find hobbies that you enjoy, and do them before it’s too late.
- Stop worrying about things that do not matter, and spend your time bettering yourself, and loving others.
Regarding artistic intervention- I found a way to talk about some of the feelings that I have, while simultaneously making/capturing art. I went outside every day, regardless of my mental state, I looked up into the sky, and I snapped a picture.
What did this do for me? It humbled me. I realize from time to time, that I am helpless in some moments; I realize that I can only do but so much- and then I accepted it all. I accepted the pain that I was feeling, I accepted the feeling of helplessness, I accepted my place in the world- regardless of if I know what it is or not. While the world is burning, I think it is important to remember that we are all just people experiencing life one moment at a time- and even if it doesn’t seem like it, in any given moment, we are all doing our best, living under the same sky, and breathing each other’s air.
Please take the time to do things that you enjoy and take the time to forgive yourself and others. Take the time to be.
