ST Healing Love-IntoBalance October2022 - Flipbook - Page 28
Societal
The ability to see ourselves as part of the collective, and to experience life that way is directly counter
to white supremacist culture that has colonized us deeply and thoroughly. The illusion that we pull
ourselves up by our bootstraps all on our own. We are special. We, as singular individuals, are born with
special gifts. We are each an island, creating our own destinies if we work hard to produce more.
We can easily slide into that place that gets so precious “poor me,” so personal (what about me?). Yet
the principles of Ubuntu4 remind us that “I am, because we are.” The word ubuntu is part of the Zulu
phrase “Umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu,” a person is a person through other people.
We grieve the lack of understanding in our society that living and dying is one continuous cycle. And
we are in community, living and dying together. Human nature, fueled and nurtured by capitalist
exploitative and extractive practice systems has reinforced and elevated our instincts to fight or flight,
for self preservation, to over-consume and hoard out of fears that we will not have enough.
We also learned to tear each down like crabs-in-a-barrel from scarcity mentality and beliefs, and
structural ways that bake in these behaviors. Those beliefs and practices are all nurtured and modeled
to us from day one. Today, those human instincts are very ingrained, “that’s just how it is,” serving as the
most base in these dominant culture and supremacy defaults. We’ve been imprisoned long enough by
those beliefs that drive our behaviors. When we see the rising presence and voices of our sheroes and
heroes, we are moved. Our hearts soften. Our hopes reaffirmed. Our candles glow up.
When we’re fearful,
we become these
individuals, on islands,
who fight for our own
survival. When we’re
connected and in
community we can
let go of fear
reigning down
on us. We’re both.
We demand an
honest love of
ourselves that is
righteous. Persistent.
Loud. Accountable to self and
future. The reward is greater
connection in a deep community out of trust, respect, justice and liberation.
This is fundamental to how we love ourselves.
4 https://sullivanfdn.org/ubuntu/
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Healing Love: Into Balance | A Brown Paper