It all begins with a breath. The breath of relief from your mother as you enter the world and the first staggering breath you take as you emerge into an atmosphere of light and wonder. We tend to forget the importance of all of our breaths; the reality is that our life is defined by the expansion of our lungs. All the moments and the spaces in between are full of them - whether they be steady, shaky, or shallow. We hold our breath as a momentary escape from reality; we are able to admire how our organs temporarily function fine without the constant breath -- but only for a few moments. Indeed, we were designed to have a health capacity for the moments that take our breath away. The moments where we are swept into the arms of those we love. The moments where we are opening a letter or email we have been waiting for. The moments where we find ourselves on the brink of a new adventure. But for those good moments where our lungs seize, there are many destructive moments also. The moment we are told we no longer serve a purpose in somebody's life and they walk away for good. The moment we are told we have lost a loved one to illness or disaster. The moment we are told we didn't get into the school we wanted to go to or a trip we were craving had been cancelled or we lost our job or that the world was hurting.
The world is hurting. America is hurting.
There was a man who could not breathe. However, the difference is that he did not have a choice. He could not resume the functionality. He was being crushed by the heavy weight of racism and oppression. I am a white woman and so I cannot even begin to understand, but I am sure that as a black man in America he had his fair share of withheld breaths. His name was George Floyd, and he died against his will at the hands of corruption and evil. George Floyd was a college graduate. George Floyd was great at football and basketball in his youth. George Floyd was the father of two daughters. George Floyd was gainfully employed as a security guard before COVID-19 hit. George Floyd was described by family as kind and loving. I, along with the majority of my fellow American citizens, did not know George Floyd. I did not know what he truly valued or stood for. I do know this though -- his life was crushed out of him through his back and his trachea. His $20 bill was not counterfeit. He just wanted some cigarettes.
The thing about America is that we seem to get riled up about an issue and then it dies down. The world sometimes pauses, but it always resumes its pulse. Our longstanding institutional and discriminatory terrors remain. A slap on the wrist and an encouraging speech are enough.
No.
They are never enough.
The Black community has continually been buzzing, but many have not heard. I can feel this in the air - the pain, the static. The pulse is resuming, but it has quickened. There is more urgency, more desperation for change. We have an opportunity to create a revolution -- will we take it? Will we stand beside the black community as white people and hear their pain and let them cry? Will we let them lead? Will we hold our hands high in solidarity with them? Life has a way of being dictated by our breaths, and it ends in their absence. Our parents stare into our little eyes after we have taken some of our first and they plead with God or the universe that we be allowed to have many, many more. The old America is slowing its breath -- but there is a quickened breath and a new pace on its way.
Are you ready?
The world is hurting. America is hurting.
There was a man who could not breathe. However, the difference is that he did not have a choice. He could not resume the functionality. He was being crushed by the heavy weight of racism and oppression. I am a white woman and so I cannot even begin to understand, but I am sure that as a black man in America he had his fair share of withheld breaths. His name was George Floyd, and he died against his will at the hands of corruption and evil. George Floyd was a college graduate. George Floyd was great at football and basketball in his youth. George Floyd was the father of two daughters. George Floyd was gainfully employed as a security guard before COVID-19 hit. George Floyd was described by family as kind and loving. I, along with the majority of my fellow American citizens, did not know George Floyd. I did not know what he truly valued or stood for. I do know this though -- his life was crushed out of him through his back and his trachea. His $20 bill was not counterfeit. He just wanted some cigarettes.
The thing about America is that we seem to get riled up about an issue and then it dies down. The world sometimes pauses, but it always resumes its pulse. Our longstanding institutional and discriminatory terrors remain. A slap on the wrist and an encouraging speech are enough.
No.
They are never enough.
The Black community has continually been buzzing, but many have not heard. I can feel this in the air - the pain, the static. The pulse is resuming, but it has quickened. There is more urgency, more desperation for change. We have an opportunity to create a revolution -- will we take it? Will we stand beside the black community as white people and hear their pain and let them cry? Will we let them lead? Will we hold our hands high in solidarity with them? Life has a way of being dictated by our breaths, and it ends in their absence. Our parents stare into our little eyes after we have taken some of our first and they plead with God or the universe that we be allowed to have many, many more. The old America is slowing its breath -- but there is a quickened breath and a new pace on its way.
Are you ready?
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