If for nothing but to release. Release your grip. Release your worry. Your fears. Anxiety. Over-processing. Over-stimulation. Over-thinking.
The most revolutionary thing Black Americans can do right now is live fully and unapologetically. It has actually always been the highest form of liberation yet somehow we’re siphoned into believing that the path we’ve been fed is the path we must take to attain our best lives.
On the contrary, the success of our collective journey has always required irrefutable confidence in our ability to do what needs to be done in every facet. I’ve intuitively known that the years ahead would require an unprecedented steadfastness. Being immersed in the throes of said years however, is an experience that defies description. The world is in shambles and we’re ingesting the information moment to moment with no reprieve. Many believe that we weren’t designed to consume this much information at the speed and in the manner we do. I dare to agree.
I mean think about it – you open your app of choice and content from a brand, friend, celeb, account you follow appears with constant new information. In 5 minutes you can learn that your friend went to an event and looked amazing, another friend lost a loved one and is in mourning, a new steak salad recipe, 45 bamboozled the law to avoid tax evasion for him and his family, Slave masters practiced cannibalism, see footage of an ocean with a reminder to take deep breaths, a former classmate got a promotion, a former colleague looks like life hit them with a ton of bricks, your favorite brand released a special drop but you missed it. All of this in 5 minutes even though we are prone to scroll for hours on end. Think about how much that is extracting from your brain. How much energy and time is being used. You just made 20 mental notes of things you either need or want to do based on a trail of information compiled without limitations. And we’ve been conditioned to believe this activity is actually a form of rest or disassociation for life’s tasks. Far from the truth. Access to information socially and digitally has indeed changed our society and community in ways that are beneficial and necessary but it is also changing our nature as human beings – and the danger of not being able to connect with each other is far greater than any amount of information we can receive at lightning speed.
I speak of this not just as an observer but an avid participant. I struggle with my relationship with technology and its evolution. A love-hate relationship at its finest. As an elder-millenial, I grew up playing outside until the street lights came on, playing house with dolls, playing trouble and monopoly when boredom hit. I also grew up playing Nintendo and Sega and with AOL chat. We had balance. To witness how technology has evolved yet stunted the maturation of our youth and their ability to cognitively think and connect with each other is simultaneously mind boggling and heart-wrenching. To also witness how my own thought process has changed has astounded me more times than I care to admit.
Life is meant to be lived not staged. It’s meant to be felt, to be experienced. Every yesterday has its own story to tell. The present day is the only day that evolves moment by moment. The thrill and uncertainty of that fact should shake us into EXISTING. So as Black Americans living in a country built by our ancestors and yet centuries later still lacking the recognition, opportunity and resources to thrive – you owe it to them and yourself to not waste your life and time. Every door opened has been by unrelenting belief and effort supporting the belief that WE DESERVE. Our lineage and daily lives are marked by trauma. Whether we want to accept that or not doesn’t devalue its truth. Being black in America is a traumatic experience. Even for those who have chosen to downplay their blackness in order to be accepted and appear to have an easier life through assimilation are internally and cellularly traumatized regardless of their acknowledgment.
So it is absolutely revolutionary to exist fully. To be grounded and connected so your life’s trials and tribulations don’t destroy your spirit and the essence of your soul. To be aware and informed but not consumed. To use the tools, not abuse them. To shamelessly love self and others fervently and without apology. To connect with each other in a real and tangible way. It is revolutionary to heal. It is revolutionary to disconnect so that you can connect.
Become all that you are destined to be. Train your mind to relentlessly pursue a life you feel excited to live. Walk tall. Shoulders back. Head high. Phone down.
Touch grass. Shoes off. Feel the blades between your toes. Sun on your skin. It is revolutionary.
Breathe deeper. Calm your spirit. Heal your body. Heal your mind. It is revolutionary.
Create and release. It is revolutionary.
Touch Grass is more than a notion. It is a revolutionary act.
We were not meant to carry the weight of a broken world through a screen, alone. We were meant to gather, to breathe, to heal together. So go and touch grass…not as an escape, but as a return - to yourself, to your people, to the sacred act of simply being alive. And when you do, invite somebody. Because the most revolutionary thing we can do is not just survive this moment, but show up for each other fully within it. Rooted. Present. Free.
