A few days back, I received a text from a very dear friend from California.
Drew was an amazing person whom I got to know in the cooking school. Gregarious, talented and big-hearted, she was the epitome of LIFE. Everywhere she goes, she brings along sunshine and positivity. So it was pretty telling when she wrote that she was struggling emotionally and spiritually due to the recent unrest in her country, and that she would appreciate some love and prayers sent her way. I did both, naturally, and asked if she would like to talk. Drew declined as she knew she wasn't in the right frame of mind at that moment, and I knew better than to insist. I would be here for her nonetheless, if she so wanted my presence.
Later that day, I found myself wondering how Drew was coping. As a majority race in multi-racial and relatively harmonious Singapore, perhaps I could never fully understand the extent as to how the color of skin we were born into can so condition and impact the way we live our lives. What is considered and accepted as a norm to us might have been a privilege to others. What is considered a given for us can be, for some others, 'hard-fought'. While we cannot change the fact that biases and inequality exist, we can, through mindfulness, be our own activists to push for a more inclusive collective.
I am not a black, but I am a human being too.
I may not share your culture or heritage, but we share a divine consciousness.
I may not understand what it means to be you, but I can empathise with what makes you.
I may not be the one to experience your hurt, but I feel your pain because I've been hurt too.
Our egos may not always see eye-to-eye, but our true selves will always appreciate the same sunset.
My eyes are yours,
And your eyes are mine.
My pain in you,
Like yours in mine.
Far apart we may be,
But we are closer than we think.
Close your eyes and breathe,
You’ll see we are interbeings.
Connected through love,
And the hope life brings.
One day this will pass,
And all kindred souls will sing.
“I am you, and you are me.
We are one, all interbeings.”
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