People of Goodwill Unite

"Courage will now be your best defense against the storm that is at hand." (J.R.R. Tolkien)

The sky is dark, thunder sounds in the distance and the air smells of the rain about to come. It rains almost every day lately and my plants are grateful since the temperatures remain in the 90's.  The side yard is an explosion of flowers, herbs and greenery as a result. I love caring for them all.

Meanwhile on the messier world stage the specter of racism once again rears its ugly head. But in the midst of the important national debate ignited I look at it from an individual point of view. What can I do in my personal life to come into more alignment with my values of diversity and equality?

Carl, my son-in-law, is Trinidadian and lives in Trinidad with my daughter and the grands. For the first time in the 17 years that he's been part of our family traveling back and forth to the USA, Carl is afraid to come here. As a black man he doesn't feel safe given our Country's current climate. The fact that he could be judged by the color of his skin rather than his sweet, smart, amazing self breaks my heart and makes me mad- as if any of those racist yo-yos could hold a candle to Carl! Makes me realize all we're missing as a society since we're missing people of color right here as well.

My beautiful family:

My girlfriend, Jasa, reminded me the other day to join with people of goodwill "to speak up, speak out and tell the truth about America and listen to each other to find common ground." She's wise. She believes everyone wants to thrive. Me too. Certainly we want our families to flourish as well.

Here's what I'm doing to learn more- I live in a diverse area and I'm getting braver talking to my neighbors about their experiences, I join groups with diversity and make friends with people of goodwill. FB is exploding with info right now so I read articles and stories from people of color to better understand the realities of racism. I believe those stories. The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander is a stunning, change-your-worldview, wake up kind of book to start with.

But be prepared to fail. I volunteer at our local food pantry and started a conversation with a man with whom I work about his experience here in Florida after the violence in Charlottesville. It didn't go anywhere for any one of a dozen reasons leaving me to get over myself and my own particular goals and find more graceful ways to be a friend.

Jasa also said that "as we re-build ourselves heart by heart, what benefits one should benefit all. If any one of us is left behind then we are all left behind. "  That can't happen when our children and grandchildren's lives are at stake. So we're in this together. Let's do this.