Know what I love most about California?
The diversity here has made me more compassionate.
I knew racism existed as a child growing up in the predominately white Midwest.
I didn’t understand it but I knew that there was something wrong about it.
Being raised in a very conservative Christian home, I was taught that while we were all equal, the races shouldn’t intermingle.
I knew that there was something wrong about that.
And when I fell in love with a boy who was black, and my parents forced him to end our relationship, and then forced me into therapy, I knew that there was something wrong with that position.
And that black was merely a placeholder for THOSE NOT LIKE US.
It was black.
It was secular.
It was LGBTQ.
It was foreign.
Whenever we put a wall between us and another for no other reason than because of how we were raised, what country we are from, what the color of our skin/eyes/hair are, what God we choose to worship, or what consensual adult we choose to love and share a life with, we become lesser versions of ourselves.
One of my biggest desires as I travel abroad over the next year is to open myself to even more diversity and continue to grow in my compassion.
But in order to grow, you have to be willing to challenge yourself.
You have to:
Give yourself permission to be Uncomfortable.
Consider that your current beliefs are wrong.
Question them.
Remove the Ego from the equation, from the filter of perception, as much as possible.
Seek to find the compassionate Truth and one that benefits ALL people, not just those who look, love, worship, and live just like you.
This is True Freedom.
This is Unity.
This is how we continue to Make America Great.
We achieve this by working to become the best possible people that we can become.
We focus our energies on being a living example of growth, of change, of empathy and goodness.
And that isn’t the result of stagnancy or reverting back to an over-romanticized past.
It is achieved by working together to create a better future for everyone.
Until we all enjoy equality, there is no equality.
And for another point of view, please check out https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fjenni.field%2Fposts%2F10214642243438032&width=500“>Jenni Field’s Food for Thought blog post.
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