Honored to converse with a true visionary in life, Carrie Sawyer, about the importance of stepping up and leaning into anti-racism activism — and that’s a mouthful! This episode 10 of “Inclusion 1st” podcast takes my last two posts (What the Hell? & What the Hell Part II) to a bit more detail.
I hope the listener can gain something from my learning and sharing, and at the very least be introduced to the phenomenal work of Carrie Sawyer and her Inclusion 1st Podcast.
As I reflect upon my incredible learning journey of 2019; delving deeper into understanding cultural curiosity, diversity, inclusion and equity, I continually stumble upon the “authenticity” term and find myself pondering it. I so value the opportunity the word presents. I gratefully succumb to being my authentic self in personal and professional relationships. Though code-switching is integrated into our social constructs, I am challenged to don the cloak of authentic perspective when the “switch gear” is enacted. I appreciate and meet this challenge!
However, today with the finality of 2019 upon us, I find myself mulling over this concept of authenticity. Questions that come to mind are as follows:
1) Is being authentic excuse to not grow or change?
2) Who are my personal authenticity police officers?
For my own answers to 1 & 2, I am reminded that being authentic does not mean static and staunch. It means I am a fallible human in need of continual learning and my “police” are those individuals put in my path to ensure I continue to open my mind, heart and ears to growth.
The authenticity piece is understanding who I am, how I got here and the need for continual support along the way. My police officers are many and can be found in various locations within my sphere of influence. Some of these individuals I’ve never met, such as Eleanor Roosevelt. Some are as close as my most intimate partner, my husband. Some are well aged and several (and many) are still skipping through their youthful years. The range of support, for me to be authentic, is a wider cast net than the actual Me, Myself and I concept found within the “be authentic” principle.
Bottom line…for me to be truly authentic, others need to embrace me where I am at and see the value of investment in the potentiality of my growth. Gratitude abounds for me here at this juncture, as I unpack authenticity and find a village inside.
I love women. I also love men. I do not believe I have the right to govern over the organs of either gender. I believe that the decisions a person makes regarding their organs are between the person and God. And if a person does not believe in God, I believe that too is between that person and God. I don’t believe hair should grow out from a mans ears, but hair keeps growing. I’d like not to believe in the wind, but regardless of my intent to hold that belief in truth, the wind keeps blowing. Disregarding the Creator no more casts the Spirit aside than my own aforementioned fancies sway the hair growth and weather patterns. I believe my stated opinions are valueless and in no way hold supremacy or even honor that which is supreme. They are my own statements and journey, and should be accounted as such.
I don’t know why, for so many years, women have been subjugated while men (in general) have not. I don’t believe to liberate one is to incarcerate the other. I don’t understand why we state we are a free society when truly all people are not free. I don’t understand how I can claim a human right for myself and disregard it for another. I have long wondered, given the history of human beings and their destructive ways, how-on-earth we apply (in the English language) the word “humane” as a positive term.
Where is this questioning coming from? One may ask. Rivka, why are you going on and on in this way? What’s your point? Well, if you are thinking such things, I will explain. First off, I am a filthy rotten sinner and in need of redemption. Thankfully I have been redeemed through the blood of the lamb. With that said, my introspections are result of understanding the darkness within. If I deny my own inner turmoil then I am nothing short of a liar. And as I navigate my way through the many messes upon our global society (ISIS, DV, Economic Crisis, political rule, etc.) I cannot fathom the contemplations without first honoring the human struggle at the core of my own being.
The other day, while driving on the I5 freeway (let me just say that the “I” in the I5 equation stands for “Interstate”) clipping along at my normal rapid rate which is typically 15 miles per hour Over the posted speed limit, I spied a woman, a man and a dog walking on the shoulder of this rapid thoroughfare. The man and woman each pushed their own metal shopping cart (borrowed no doubt from an unsuspecting grocer) with what looked like all of their earthly possessions in tow. The dog ambled on his own, alongside his human counterparts. And as these three living beings steadfastly moved forward amongst the speedway just inches to their left, their untold story festered in my mind. Their plight ignites my interrogations. Their fortitude, in obvious adversity, nods to the innate character of man (humans). Their journey became my puzzle.
Connected to the “I5 Three” are the rights each of us is given in this United States of America, rights which have not been wholly honored on the majority level. As stated in the Declaration of Independence:
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”
I found myself thinking (and rightfully easing up on the accelerator pedal) that the I5 Three were in the same pursuit as myself, though theirs was on foot while I was in vehicle. I no more deserve the pursuit than they do, just as I no more have the right to take it away from them nor they from me–not here in the U.S.A. After all, we are not under totalitarianism rule. And, as human beings, we are in this lot together. I then quickly move from the brave ambulating strangers to the idea of Rights. Rights for us all and how women (in general) have been in a consistent struggle, through the ages, to have those unalienable Rights bestowed them. And through the process and rapidity in which the thoughts disperse within my being, I move quickly to the place of considering how to impact our world so my potential granddaughters are ensured the same consideration as my potential grandsons. And why, in the first place, is it so tough for people to extend the courtesy of their own freedoms to that of another?
I am grateful to know my Creator. I am grateful for the teachings of Jesus. I am grateful that while upon earth The Christ exampled equality to both genders and showed love with impartiality. I cling to the words of Jesus as stated in scripture, also known as “The Golden Rule” (paraphrased) Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Jesus himself was a champion for women and all people. He lovingly gave us the right to choose–even if the choice made is apart from him. So why today, in our supposedly westernized civilization, are we still politicizing the female and lording over that particular sex? Why are some disempowered still by the lack of a Y chromosome? Why are we wanting to rule over others and by doing so strip them of the same opportunities we are allowed to aspire to?
While I cannot answer the immensity of the questions posed, I can consider them at a level within my reach. I can start with me. I avow to pioneer for equality for women as well as pioneer for equality for men. I will not take on one, without also tending to the other. However, I will not stand by and quietly allow the rights of a woman to be disregarded while the rights of a man are not. I will not align myself to “men haters” as that agenda is counterintuitive to the cause. And I will not stand by and be silent, nor align myself with hypocrisy, within this nation I call home.
October is “Domestic Violence Awareness Month,” my post is in honor of subjugated women around the globe.
"I do not want people to be very agreeable, as it saves me the trouble of liking them a great deal."
-Jane Austin
"Me lo han quitado todo
-bueno, casi todo-
porque me queda la sonrisa
el orgullo de sentirme un hombre libre
y en el alma un jardín
de eterna florecitas."
-Armando Valladares 1981, La Mejor Tinta
My title is deceiving. It implies I am in the market for a new daughter. This is not the case…I assure you. And though this post has nothing to do with shopping for a child, it does involve the parent-child dynamic. Are you surprised? Have I not overused this topic already? I will answer for […]
living in loss and gratitude 