I'm almost finished with Ruth King's fabulous book Mindful of Race.
She clearly makes the connection between racial justice and mindfulness – an interconnectedness I wholeheartedly support.
Many great perspectives in the book; here's one:
When fighting for racial justice, there's a big difference between invested in outcomes and being attached to outcomes we're striving for.
Non-attachment is a fundamental pillar of mindfulness. I suspect if more people understood and applied this, their racial justice work would be more purposeful and impactful.
We do racial justice work because we live in a world of racial injustice – built on a foundation of systemic racism and White supremacy.
This reality makes us feel indignant, angry, overwhelmed, traumatized, and much else.
In the context of perpetual White supremacy, these feelings are natural and unavoidable. And they motivate us to drive change.
We envision a different, better, more equitable world, and we are invested in making that world a reality.
But when we get attached to that better world, our negative emotions are exacerbated when what we envision doesn't happen as quickly or ideally as we would like.
Then the cycle of rage continues, further distorting our ability to to drive impact and affect change.