Inspiration from the Aspens

This guided meditation was written shortly after the death of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and so many others. We are suffering, our country ravaged by the fires of racism, police brutality, and violence. I am broken by the cruelty and pain inflicted on communities of color, yet all my sorrow cannot compare to the centuries of trauma they carry within their bodies and psyche. 

My thoughts kept turning to the aspens, introduced to me by my daughter who lives in New Mexico. I was moved to learn that the aspens share deep, ancient root systems that allow them to regrow even after the devastation of a forest fire. Many have expressed the possibility that now, finally, we will bring the long-needed, lasting change to the deep divisions in our country. For true healing to occur, we must acknowledge the hideous reality of racism, dismantle it in all its forms, and allow healing and restoration to flow from our shared humanity.  No lives matter until Black Lives Matter.