I’m pretty sure most of my blogs are a light & fluffy read so we can allow one with a more serious note from time to time, right? So …

“Research suggests that the stress that develops due to experiencing or witnessing racism can have long lasting effects, increasing the risk of chronic disease and mental health conditions such as anxiety and depression in both children and adults.”

medicalnewstoday

Take a minute to read that again and then think about it carefully! “experiencing or witnessing racism can have long lasting effects, increasing the risk of chronic disease and mental health conditions such as anxiety and depression in BOTH children and adults” If you know me then you know that I’m white, my wonderful husband is black and our three beautiful children (adult kids) are biracial and that quote applies to THEM and if it applies to them then it applies to ME. If this applies to ME then it applies to YOU! ALL OF YOU! You may ask “why does it apply to me?” The answer is, whilst there is any discrimination or racism IN OUR WORLD then it applies to EVERY ONE!! You may think that making racial slurs or negative comments/jokes is ok because you’re a nice person and you haven’t got anything against Black, Asian or Minority Ethnic people. In fact some of them are your friends, right? Individually you probably are respectful in public but what about below the surface or when you’re with certain groups of people? I’m not picking on you and trying to make you feel bad but I am trying to increase your self awareness as discrimination and racism aimed at others not only impacts their well-being but it is also impacting YOURS.

Well-being encompasses so many aspects of our lives and is influenced by:

• What we experience
• What we believe
• What we think
• What we do
• What we say

Every aspect of well-being is influenced by these main themes and they are influenced by the rules that we have consciously, or more often than not unconsciously, developed. The personal rules that we each live by have developed through past experiences, our cultures, our education, parenting and what we then have learned to think and feel about ourselves and others. The rules we live by affect how we connect with the world, the feelings that we cultivate and can make it either incredibly hard for us to be happy or incredibly easy. It’s central to the forming of our attitudes which, again, make it either easy for us to be happy with life in general or really difficult. So, what are the personal rules and beliefs that you have developed over the years and live by? (and I’m not talking about playground rules, workplace rules, rules of the land, government rules or universal beliefs ~ as these are all, usually positive, rules that keep order and respectful living) I’m talking about the ones that you personally live by that have formed your attitudes and how you behave towards yourself and others?

Sometimes we’re not consciously aware of them, or we are aware of them and don’t necessarily agree with them but haven’t stopped to take the time to think carefully about not just who we are but how we are and what we believe! Don’t waste any time feeling bad about this, as it’s a waste of energy but do take the time to review your beliefs and how they influence you, because they do emit an energy that is tangibly felt by others. You can’t hide your core beliefs as they do seep out into the atmosphere around you, infect it, and are tangibly felt. So instead of hiding them why don’t you face them and choose to change them? For A LOT of people they have been conditioned to think and feel that way and they literally have no real understanding of WHY they have racist beliefs ~ as they have just been conditioned that way. If that’s YOU, you can change that ~ and you REALLY need to!!! For YOUR well-being and the sake of humanity! ALL BORN EQUAL!!! FACT! Regardless to what you were taught or conditioned to believe! Discriminatory and prejudice beliefs are like a poisonous toxin to YOU and to the world on which we ALL belong!

Some of my friends have really not understood the “black lives matter” statement and I understand that it can be confusing as the response is usually “ALL LIVES MATTER” and of course they do … but it’s easy to say that but not really understand it, so I’ve included a Youtube video to help you to understand. Despite the absolute seriousness of the subject, humour does help to communicate a truth. So, I hope this helps you to understand that All lives can’t matter until black lives do! One could say it’s nuanced, but I believe it’s really not that subtle! We face this every day and we can’t just shrug and ignore it. Well, I guess you could but then what kind of world do you really want to live in? I’m hoping that we all want to feel loved and accepted! Regardless to race, we all have that human right!

Blessings to you and make a stand THIS WEEK to improve YOUR well-being and the lives of those around you. Remember … what comes around goes around!

Love & blessings, Sam xx