Prejudice, a dirty word, and faith, a clean one, have something in common: they both begin where reason ends. ~ Harper Lee.
Since morning, I have been getting International Women’s day messages from all over. And I call all of us to act in support of creating an equal, inclusive world for our children, our future leaders.
We are all on a journey of self discovery - as we grow aware, and discover more about ourselves and others we must make some decisions on how we will proceed with on our path - its really up to us.... Once we see the light how will we respond?
Awareness is a start, and I offer today as an opportunity to observe, tune in and tune out. Listen to your inner voice and others’ voices at the same time.
Prejudice
I will not give you another definition, I promise. Let me tell you a story. Not once upon a time story of holocaust survivors, but how the old tale is redefined for the lessons needed today.
There is a museum of tolerance in Los Angeles. When you walk into the museum, you gather in a small group and wait for the guide. The guide says that there are two doors through which you can enter the museum. On one door, it is marked as “prejudiced” and the other as “non-prejudiced,” and you choose the entrance based on how you feel about yourself.
Some intellectuals opted to enter the museum through “non-prejudiced.” Yes, you guessed it right! It was locked. None of us is free from prejudices.
You have that. I have that. We all have got this. And there is nothing wrong with it.
Awareness
Prejudices are our natural leanings. These create our unique perspectives and shape our being.
What makes one different from others is their observation of seemingly uncomplicated responses, like accent we naturally like and, the accent that gets on our mind, the skin tone of a person we walk towards in a gathering.
Be aware. Listening to the inner voice is the key to awareness.
Prejudices, it is well known, are most difficult to eradicate from the heart whose soil has never been loosened or fertilised by education: they grow there, firm as weeds among stones. ~ Charlotte Brontë
Leanings take power from us and start getting in our way when we stop listening to inside voices.
Beware!
Most of us, and the child in us, want to be heard. So we sing a joyous song that could help us in vocation and life. We create these tunes to support our professional or personal goals and engage in positive affirmations intentionally.
Here is where the tale gets interesting and sometimes dirty. This intentional behavior holds unintended consequences for an individual’s morality.
Tuning in, unselfconsciously, may create an inner song that can impact one’s moral purity — a psychological state that results from viewing oneself as clean from an ethical standpoint.
It can make us feel mean, selfish, and prejudiced.
Prejudice, a dirty word, and faith, a clean one, have something in common: they both begin where reason ends. ~ Harper Lee in the book Go Set a Watchman
Get over awareness
To “feel prejudiced,” one needs to have a level of self-awareness. But being aware gets you to the light that you have the power to switch on now. See the forked road.
While one pathway leads to analysis paralysis, the other leads to the next right.
Take the next right and use “Self as Instrument.” In developing ourselves, we grow within ourselves capabilities that can sense and respond to the developmental patterning happening in others.
All inventions and no integration makes Newton a dull boy.
It is like inventing something powerful and die protecting it.
The butterfly only can see other butterflies. The butterfly only can appreciate the process and pain that the caterpillar needs to go throw to become the butterfly. As a caterpillar, butterflies quite literally do not exist.
If you take one thing
What we cover educating ourselves is good. Practicing awareness is excellent. The power lies in integrating the identified part of us.
What part of you — that you identified — you commit to integrating? #breakthebias