FROM COLLAPSE TO INSPIRATION

Life's most persistent and urgent question is
'What are you doing for others?' 
Martin Luther King Jr. 

Martin Luther King Jr. day is both and interesting and sacred day. Our nation shuts down schools and government, to celebrate a man who woke us up, empowered his people, fought with a heart full or love and fire for justice- but in the lives of people of color, how much has changed?

For me, this day is inspiring and moving and I've been choked up all day long. It's a celebration of the effect one person can have when they stand in their truth, and lift everyone around them. A celebration of a man who wouldn't surrender to complacency or defeat, no matter what, no matter how exhausted, brutalized and impossible life was. 

And it's a joke.

Because our government that shuts down its offices and services and offers free parking- is so damn racist it's not even funny.

I feel so humbled by the actions of  Martin Luther King Jr., and his wife, holy hell his wife, Coretta Scott Kingaccomplished more in one lifetime than seems humanly possible. Humbled and inspired. And hopeless. So hopeless that very little has changed systemically, in the day to day lives of people of color in our country. And this hopelessness feels overwhelming, like I want to crawl into the bowels of the earth and hang my head and cry for the rest of my life. And it's useless. It doesn't help anyone.

This year I'm focusing on the bigger picture. This grief and rage that makes me feel like collapsing under its weight is not mine. It's not about me. So I'm using it as the fire under my white middle class privileged ass to keep standing up for what's inhumane. For what's inequitable and violent and WRONG. 

I invite you to use your grief, your overwhelm, your WTF how is the world like this, to wake you up and light your fire, and to take action. 

Here are a few links of ways to get involved:
Black Lives Matter
SURJ- Showing Up for Racial Justice

Educate yourself:
Rachel Cargle
Layla F. Saad

Short on time and energy?
Donate money to all of the above. They are doing the work that needs to be done.

Above all, don't collapse. Let yourself rise, and be of service. Use your body, your dance, to feel your rage or grief, and to energize your heart. Let your dance or movement feed you, nourish you, so you have the energy and the will to act. Let the overwhelming ridiculousness of our current political, environmental, and social climate empower you to stand up for what you believe and be an agent of change, that's the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr.