The weight of the world…it’s hard not to feel it. Even on a bright sunny day it may feel like a thick fog. When I wake up in the morning, prepare myself a meal, enjoy time in nature, go to the studio to teach, hold my son close to me, or go to bed at night I hear the cries, I feel the weight of the injustices and brutal violence inflicted upon fellow humans, and I empathize with the struggles, hardships, and trauma that people are experiencing right now, especially for those in black and brown skin. I’d like to acknowledge and take a pause for the murder of George Floyd and for the people that are living and re-living the horror and trauma of this brutal act and the countless ones that came before. Our eyes, our hearts, our souls are not meant to see or experience such intense cruelty, oppression, and bigotry—and for it to be normal. The pain and the trauma run deep and my heart goes out to all those wounded.
There is so much healing that has to take place in our world. It is hard not to be overwhelmed with hopelessness and despair. There is a lack of education, understanding, and empathy. In these turbulent times, what is our call to action? (Yes, presently right now, but really when have we not lived in turbulent times? We are a culture built on violence, hundreds of years in the making.) What is a yogi to do?
Education is essential at this time and there is always opportunity to learn and grow. It’s important to do our best to understand the history of our country and how we have created an economic system based on inequality, discrimination, and violence. The documentary 13th gives a glimpse into our current justice system and explores mass incarceration in relationship to the Thirteenth Amendment, which abolished slavery and ended involuntary servitude except as a punishment for crime. It is incredibly eye-opening. (Find more resources at the end of this post). I believe that looking more deeply into things opens us up to greater understanding and empathy. This allows for a change in the heart. I believe that for long-lasting systemic change to occur it starts in our hearts.
I appreciate this quote by Lao Tzu, which I feel gives important guidance and direction…
If there is to be peace in the world,
There must be peace in the nations.
If there is to be peace in the nations,
There must be peace in the cities.
If there is to be peace in the cities,
There must be peace between neighbors.
If there is to be peace between neighbors,
There must be peace in the home.
If there is to be peace in the home,
There must be peace in the heart.
Peace starts in the heart. Change starts within each individual. This is where our call to action begins. Posting a hashtag or holding up a sign in protest of what we are against is the easy part. We have to live what we are for. What is necessary for a shift to a more just and peaceful world is to look within and change what we do from day to day.
What am I able to do from day to day? I stand strong in my values that challenge the normalcy of society, even when it means others feel uncomfortable by it. The easy thing to do is to give in or give up…the small and large-scale pressures are great and the petty arguments and disputes that often cause a breakdown of living one’s values are even greater. But if I give in, what kind of life am I living? What kind of legacy am I leaving? Not an authentic one.
Each moment of each day, I strive to live my core values of mutual respect, kindness, and compassion. This means I have to check myself with everything I think, say, and do. I must ask myself these questions: “What am I doing?” “How am I doing it?” and “Why am I doing it?” I have to check or question everything from the judgment and bias in my mind to the conversations I have with others to the purchases I make on a daily basis and the list goes on. Are my thoughts, words, and actions contributing to peace in my heart and uplifting change in our world? Self-study, or swadhyaya, being mindfully aware on a moment to moment, day to day basis is not an easy task. Yoga is a practice, not perfection. None of us are perfect. We all progress and fall down and return stronger. Every day we do our best.
As Lao Tzu suggested, I truly believe that we start with peace in the heart to create peace in the home and then peace between neighbors and so on. I speak for myself in that I have a lot of work to do in these areas. What is in my power to eliminate the oppression, bigotry, and discrimination based on skin color, cultural heritage, race, gender, sexual preference, etc. begins in my heart and my home. Through our combined efforts of living from a place of peace in the heart we get closer to living in a world that is free from exploitation.
Each choice we make has an impact. As Julia Butterfly Hill has said, “The question is not “Can you make a difference?” You already do make a difference. It’s just a matter of what kind of a difference you want to make, during your life on this planet. (Taken from Black and Buddhist by Mary Cowhey.)” To me, being an activist means actively, mindfully participating in my daily choices. “Is this choice an extension of my values and my true self?” Making educated and compassionate choices in today’s world is challenging. It requires us to have consistent self-care/spiritual/meditative practices as individuals to keep up the work.
As a human family, I believe we are all here to be kind, gentle, loving, and respectful to one another…such basic things that sadly we are not doing, because if we were, I imagine our world may look very different. What is necessary is more inner work to create the outer world we all desire. And that brings up more questions…
How am I able to do the inner work to be more aware, compassionate, and respectful to myself and others in my everyday life? How am I able to do the inner work to encourage others to increase their awareness, act with compassion, and be respectful to themselves and others in their everyday life?
The weight of the world is heavy, and we are able to move through each day knowing that we are doing something to make it a little lighter. There are many paths on this journey to truth, justice, equality, and peace. Stand firm in your power and purpose, create space for spirit and truth, and do not be overcome by fear, anger, confusion, or division. Strengthen yourself spiritually and come back to the heart. It is in the heart we are able to access how we as individuals are able to uniquely contribute to peace and justice. How we contribute is unique to each one of us. It is not a trend, but rather a calling from deep within. Be gentle with yourself and others along the way. Do your best and imagine that others are doing the same. Stay strong. Stay resilient. Be the change. Be the peace.
To close this post, I am sharing some resources that are relevant and important to be aware of in our world. This is just the tip of resources to share out there. It’s important that we have the courage to confront our ignorance and look more deeply into what is going on present day and historically in the world. Be open to vulnerability, to open your heart, and to learn something new. Confronting our ignorance is the beginning of enlightenment.
Relevant Resources to Educate, Inspire, and Create Change:
Film Documentaries:
13th
The Uncomfortable Truth
Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am
When They See Us (Central Park 5)
Books:
An Act of State: The Execution of Martin Luther King by William F. Pepper
Aftershock: Confronting Trauma in a Violent World by Pattrice Jones
The Origin of Others by Toni Morrison
The Social Construction of Race by Joan Ferrante and Prince Brown Jr.
Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America (National Book Award Winner) by Ibram X. Kendi
More:
State of Union Yoga
The King Center
Breeze Harper
Christopher Sebastian
Anna Ferguson is the author of World Peace Yoga: Yoga for People Who Breathe, a book on yoga that inspires peace in action, developing intuition, deepening empathy, and expanding compassion. Connect with Anna via Instagram @annafergusonpeace or via Facebook or join her for a class online at worldpeaceyogaonline.com.