Hey you, 2 things can be true.

It’s more rewarding too…

For some reason, we have trouble holding opposite thoughts and/or feelings. But once you make it a habit, things become clearer. 

Am I confident or cocky? Yes.
Am I an intellectual or quite thoughtless? Yes.

Am I strong or actually scared? Absolutely yes.  

Do we love being with friends and being alone? Yes

Do we wanna help our family members and acknowledge their self accountability? Yes

Can you walk and chew gum? Cmon…. 

🚶‍♂️ 

But when we ask the same from a group of people, it gets muddy. 

Shouldn’t we have compassion for someone even when they activate anger in us?  “But this is different”.

You’re right. The difference is you’ve chosen to buy into drinking the poison of “anger”, hoping it will harm them.

Jokes on you because you were tricked into becoming them. Then, speaking of mud, the more you throw the more they'll throw back. Who wins? NO ONE. And nothing changes. 

The meditation I teach, Growth Mindfulness, is the practice of opposites working together.

Becoming more stable inward to grow outward. 

Stable = Unmoved by external events —> Stop letting the world out there choose your mindset for you. 

Grow = Being the source of your change —> Your past thoughts don’t have to control your future ones. 

Because I made a mistake, doesn’t mean all I am is tarnished.

Because I aim to understand someone doesn’t mean I will agree with them. 

And because I won’t celebrate one persons death, doesn’t mean I’m ignoring the suffering they caused. I’m just not going to join in causing more suffering.  

It’s not rocket science, it's being better than who I was yesterday. 

Life Hack: Vulnerability

My eyes watered as I got in my car…

… then I exhaled.

I recently gave a talk on the topic of “Inclusion”. As a non-dualist, to me all things are ultimately one, even what seems opposite of each other, so I started by talking about “division”.

How?

With the picture above. Me, about 3 years old. Born to a Black, Floridian, Democrat Mother and a Spanish, New Yorker, Republican Father division lives within my DNA. In addition, I have no memory of them getting along.

For the first time, I stood in front of strangers and publicly told the story of never feeling like I fit in. Being told I “talk white” from my extended family on my Black side. Having my nose squeezed by a family member on my Spanish side because it was “too flat and round”. And then going into the world and being mocked because they didn’t know “what I was”. Except to the police, by the time I was a teen, I was just Black to them.

Somewhere during the talk my typical excitement of doing my job turned into feelings of somber. Seeing the audiences faces as I told story after story reminded me to hear it from the outside. To imagine how I’d feel if I heard a toddler was being treated like that.

My talk ends on inclusion being the breath of division. When we see our differences as a beautiful part of nature, division becomes dynamism.

After that, while talking with some of the attendees, a man walked up to me. He was tall, middle aged, and had a natural build that looked like he could flip a car if he wanted. Then, he shook my hand I noticed such kind and gentle eyes, he spoke lightly but with intention and thoughtfulness and said “I am so moved by your talk, this is one of the best talks I’ve ever heard.”

I had been standing there, raw in emotion, a bit insecure about if my talk was “okay”, only to be rocked with such a compliment. My goodness I was moved! But what really came in like a gust of wind was that my vulnerability showed and that was what resonated.

My story is tough, for sure. But if I told it through the lens of anger, or championing my past with my fists at my hips and chest out, or from a revolutionary “lets fight back” standpoint, it wouldn’t have landed. I affected someone because I was honest at how I was affected. In these very divisive times everyone is wanting to be in control, wanting to be strong, wanting to be right…I want to be real.

And you should too. You’ve known at least one person who held their struggles in and you probably saw what that did to them. Give yourself permission for vulnerability. If hurt people hurt people, then healed people heal people.

If that man ever reads this, thank you for taking 10 seconds of your life to change the entirety of my life. I was overwhelmed with honor, but maintained cordial conversations until I said goodbye to everyone. As I was walking in the parking lot, I was overcome with joy. My eyes watered as I got in my car… then I exhaled.

C.