The events that have transpired over the course of the last week and the two months prior have allowed for a shift in the way we exist. That is to say that an opportunity to become more intentional has presented itself. When we have been asked to stay home to prevent the spread of a worldwide virus, we have become more intentional about where we go and when we go there. We have become more intentional about who we interact with and how. We have become more intentional about the food we buy and what we eat.
When the tragedy that struck Minneapolis one week ago happened, it triggered a response that no one could have anticipated. The result, while definitely messy and chaotic on a lot of levels, was needed. Subsequently there has been a shift in the language we use and it can be seen throughout our communities, both in person and digitally. In many cases, though, words weren’t wanted. Lip service, as we have become accustomed to hearing, wasn’t going to be enough this time. Hollow speeches weren’t going to change anything. So there was a physical push and riots happened and fires burned and what it did was get everyone’s attention. The violence was action. The protests were action. All of it was action and scores and scores of folks, in the face of all that was unfolding, kept talking…and then something happened.
More words happened, but they were different.
Yesterday the Governor of Minnesota held a press conference and absolutely owned it. He spoke about accountability and made statements that indicated an immediate shift in the way things will be done going forward to address Minnesota’s inequities. They were just words, but they were different. What I heard was ownership and accountability. What I heard was action and it got me to thinking about the following:
When words are spoken they become actions in that they are produced in our vocal chords and expelled by the movement of our tongue and lips.
If we acknowledge the actionable shift in our dialect, we can follow that with the other parts of our body, our non-verbal communication points.
Additionally, the more we exercise our mouths and our arms and our hands and our cores to this, the more likely our brains are to follow.
If we are to become the change we want to see in others, first we must begin with ourselves. Let’s alter our language. Let’s change our vernacular. Let’s go forward with inclusion and engagement. Let’s change our world.