I have struggled with what I wanted to post today. Not wanting to add insult to injury, but feeling I had to articulate something. This is such a painful, fearful, confusing time for everyone. On every subject these days a hard line has been drawn and you have to be on one side or the other.
To my friends of color, I love you. You know that.
I have been struggling with ways to better support my Black and Brown friends. My friend Jill has posted some great sources and is helping with information about better educating ourselves. To help u shear a live as better members if our community.
I went to church this morning (Via computer) and our pastor said, wouldn’t it be nice if we all understood each other. If we all spoke the same language and used the same words. There IS a common language. There are words for us all to understand each other. That language is God’s language of love. If we speak with love, with our hearts, and listen the same way, we CAN understand one another.
Now, I’m not going to preach to you. If you know me at all, you will know God and I still have a few things to work out between us. But I took our pastor’s words to heart, and thought about my own experience just yesterday at Home Depot.
Everyone was social distancing in line, except the man behind me. He insisted on standing right behind me. Right there on my heels. He was wearing a mask, so that was good, but he was too damned close. First I was irritated, and as we moved up in line, downright uncomfortable. Finally I turned and sharply reminded him that social distancing was 6’ and asked him to please step back.
He did. Way back.
The line moved quickly and when I glanced back, he was no where near us. I had spoken sharply. I needed to apologize, but he was gone. My own actions continued to nag at me. This morning I realized, had I spoken to him out of love, my tone would not have offended. A gentle reminder was probably all that was necessary. But, I had spoken out of fear, and irritation, and my tone was not loving, probably more like accusing or angry.