Working for equality is not only working for equal rights, equal opportunities and equal respect for all beings - although these are fundamental to an equal and just society - it also means working for our communities, for our connections to eachother and choosing love over fear.
As we grow, learn and move forwards on a path of self understanding, we must confront our own prejudices and fears. In doing so, we allow for a huge potential of connection and love that previously would have been held back. Many of our prejudices and fears will be from social and cultural conditioning - gently or not so gently filtering through to our thought patterns and beliefs. Many of these we act on sub consciously and it can be easy not to stop and reflect on the impact they are having - not just on ourselves, but on those who live around us, our connections to them and the energy of our communities.
I felt that I had always been aware of inequalities, and my own righteous stand was being anti any kind of unjust or unequal treatment of others. However, what I hadn't really focussed on or tried to reflect on was the darker side of any prejudices and fears and how these could potentially be affecting others, as well as myself. I was familiar with sexism and how I felt it impacted on me, but what about my own self objectification or my own judgement of other women, what was my own inner voice saying to me? When it came to racism, for a long time, I thought it was enough to be 'not racist' and point the finger of judgement at those who were outwardly projecting their prejudice and racism. However, this is not enough. First because I am part of the system, part of the structure that holds racism in place and I benefit from this system everyday - this is the structure and system of the country and society I live, work, interact in and benefit from.
We can take ourselves out of the structures that hold inequality in place, cut the ties and the flow of energy and power we give them. We can hold those in decision making positions to account and make our voices heard when those who feel they have authority over others violate any authority we have given them. Importantly, we can work on our own prejudices every day - watch our own behaviour and try harder to break all social and cultural conditioning that promotes prejudice and fear. We can connect more to the people around us, all the beautiful, diverse and unique members of the human race - the more we all connect to those around us, the more fear will be dispelled for all.
Connecting to ourselves and to our communities will form part of a free challenge I am putting together, this will challenge us to look at our own beliefs and how we can break through them to make deeper and more meaningful connections - dispelling our own prejudices and aligning ourselves with love - sign up for my newsletter on the homepage to keep in touch and be informed when it starts, I'd love to have you aboard
Comments