Awareness. Expand It!
I feel the need to expand upon my recent heartfelt Instagram post about my "WTF" reaction to the Nice White Parents podcast.
Why?
Because the whole point of energy work is to increase our consciousness—aka wake up!
In plain English, that means we want to become aware of what we think and believe since most of our thoughts and beliefs are unconscious. How can we expect to change them if we don’t even realize what they are?
We obviously don’t need to change all our thoughts and beliefs, just those that aren’t our own or are no longer serving our highest good.
And why does this matter? Because our thoughts and beliefs are the backbone of why we behave the way we do. When we are unconscious of the programming we’ve received from other influences, we can unintentionally sabotage ourselves and others.
Nice White Parents literally blew my mind. It’s a short, 5-episode podcast about how well-intentioned white parents can actually block building better school systems (by Serial and The New York Times.)
We have a similar scenario in our local school district. I am still processing the ways I may have been a “Nice White Parent” as my school involvement reflects my personal priorities even though I thought it was for the good of all.
After my Nice White Parents post, a friend asked me what the educational differences are in Sweden compared to the US. I can only speak to my experience in Santa Barbara, but here are some differences:
Almost everyone in Sweden works so there are no PTAs. Neither are there classroom, library, or lunch volunteers. They aren’t necessary because of difference #3
There are no fundraising events requiring parent involvement—see #3
All schools in Sweden are equally funded—kids in fancy neighborhoods go to just as nice schools with good teachers as kids in poor ones.
In Sweden, every child gets free lunch. Period. Fresh, colorful, healthy food is provided for Every Single Student (always with a vegan option). This creates equality from both a health and a learning perspective.
The Swedish school system seems to embody what the producers of Nice White Parents concluded were some solutions to the pervasive inequality in American schools—equal funding and no parent involvement—aka influence.
But this blog is not about schools. It’s about us waking up!
Yes, first we need to do the inner work for our own personal growth. My life has improved beyond my wildest imagination through my inner work and I continue it daily. But we’re not meant to spend our whole lives navel-gazing and in self-analysis.
Once we’ve grown our own awareness and developed our inner strength, it’s time to widen the aperture of the lens through which we view the world.
By broadening our perspective, we realize there is no need to be in competition with others, to strive to get ahead, or have our own kids get ahead. We will happily work for the betterment of all.
We can start by caring for the well-being of children other than our own, then other humans in our own community, then people in other communities, other nations, different religions, those in difficult situations.
When we awaken to the fact that we are all connected through the Universal life force flowing through each of us and every being with whom we share our Earth, we joyfully will want to create a world in which we all thrive.
Even if you are in resistance to hearing more about systemic racism or think you are already well versed, I encourage you to listen to Nice White Parents. Use it as a catalyst to help you not only discover if you are a Nice White Parent, but also to shine a light on other unconscious thoughts and beliefs you’d like to examine and possibly change.
This experience was literally one of the most stressful of my life! And that is saying a LOT given I’d already overcome years of infertility trying to get these amazing kids, survived cancer while completing grad school, and moved internationally three times in two years.