what happens when we see the truth

On Saturday night, I went to Nur-D’s concert with the Minnesota Orchestra and through the depth of his lyrics, I was able to clearly name what has been coming up lately. Acknowledgement. 

Throughout life, I have found myself reading books/poems, taking classes/workshops/seminars, and listening to songs/podcasts that get to the artist’s heart. Oftentimes these creative expressions drew on historical and/or biological stories that acknowledge an experience (personal and/or collective) that invoked deep emotion and contemplation. Listening to Nur-D sing about the past, present, and future was incredibly inspirational. It reminded me how important a mindful life is for our individual and united wellbeing. 

During the priceless performance, I felt called to reflect on how important self acknowledgement is to our authenticity. How impactful communal acknowledgement is for feeling valuable. How healing government acknowledgement can be for the traumas inflicted on large groups of humans by the acts of elected officials or people in power. 

Acknowledgement gives us truth about the past and hope for the future. It grounds us to the present moment and gives us a path to move forward. 

For this month, I invite you to acknowledge

• your full self
• your community members in whatever group you feel most connected to
• our government ‘s role on people, animals, and our plants life 

In addition, you may find the Social Change Ecosystem Map by Deepa Iyer (seen below) helpful to answer; in what ways do you see yourself supporting social change? Oftentimes with acknowledgement comes the urge to participate. It can be impactful to reflect the way(s) you share your visions and gifts with our world.

In the words of the Lakota Chief Sitting Bull, “Let us put our minds together and see what life we can make for our children.”