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2020 The Year of Awakening

Regardless of the outcome of our national and local elections, what I’ve learned from politics is that we are all leaders and need to take responsibility to make change in our spheres of influence. On December 31^st many may look back on this year with great relief, hoping that 2021 will bring a new beginning that will erase the tragedies of 2020. Whether suffering from a tragic weather event due to climate change, targeting of the LGBTQ+ communities, the hundreds of missing and murdered Indigenous women, mourning parentless children in cages at the U.S. border, the loss of your preferred political candidate or initiative, a lost relative, a lost job, or loss of housing, 2020 has been challenging for everyone. But the challenge was not felt equally among many communities. Twenty-twenty is the year of dual pandemics: Covid-19 and the world-wide recognition of police brutality in the United States that gave rise to a long needed social justice awakening. With many folks quarantined due to a 100-year global health pandemic, we were forced to see inequities that we could normally overlook when we weren’t stuck inside. The disproportionate number of deaths by people of color due to the Coronavirus and the unjust murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and many other people of color this year called attention to the disparities in health care access, police brutality, and law enforcement practices and policies that proved to be deadly for black and brown people.

 

In the midst of it all I saw a startling parallel between the two crises: air and breath. The temperament definition of the element of air represents red and blood. Can this pandemic be shining a light on the unnecessary red blood spilled of black and brown people due to police brutality? When George Floyd muttered the words, “I Can’t Breathe” more than 20 times when the officer kneeled on his neck akin to what hunter’s do to suffocate the life out of their prey, did he know that he would be shining a light on the elements of air and what it represents this year tying together the two crises?

 

Was the spilling of Breanna Taylor’s red blood, due to a no-knock warrant gone wrong, making us look at bad law enforcement policies and practices as it relates to the temperament definition of air? Breath and air equals life.

 

Covid-19 is a virus that attacks the lungs. It steals your air by inflaming your lungs making it difficult to breathe. This lack of oxygen forces folks to the hospital where they may need a ventilator to help them survive. During this pandemic, charts are drawn in red highlighting the loss of life: 1.19 million globally as of November 1^st according to John Hopkins University Corona Virus Resource Center and 230,934 deaths in the United States. So many lives lost. So much pain and suffering.

 

Furthermore, the mystic character of the element of air is defined as dreamer, lover of freedom, profound. Could the death of these two souls who dreamed of better futures, desiring the freedom to pursue their purpose in profound ways be calling out to us for an awakening?

 

We as Americans have not even begun to fully experience the after effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. The lingering health issues for those who have recovered from the disease, the impending financial whiplash of job loss which will lead to housing loss. The social and psychological after effects of social distancing, isolation and loneliness.

 

If you are reading this blog you still have your air and breath. If 2020 has taught us anything it should be to live on purpose. What will you do with the air and breath that you still draw? Why do you think you are still here? I submit to you that you are here because you have a responsibility to shine your light by making positive change. This change requires you to educate and empower yourself to work on equity and justice in whatever realm you have influence.

 

This year I started a series on Allyship. I am hopeful that you took advantage of those classes to embark upon a journey of using your privilege to help those who are less fortunate than you. Whether you are an entry level worker or a CEO, each of us has the power and ability to make positive change for the benefit of others. Let us not be passive about helping those in need due to the challenges of this year but rather, rise to the challenge by taking the reins over these pandemics and use our energies for good. Good is still possible. We need only to seize it. By helping those in need, we shine our light. By shining our light and helping others, we help them breathe. Breath and air are the gifts of 2020.