Little Magazine 5
Article 5
June 2, 2020
Neglecting the body.
In light of recent events, I’m not in the mood to talk shop, TBH. Everything can take a back seat. When part of our community feels so unheard, so hurt, that violence breaks out and pervades our daily lives— it’s woke, necessary, intelligent, progressive, and healing, to consider—why? I’ve been discussing this with my parents over the past few days. Yes, it’s not right to damage property and loot from the innocent, but—aren’t we all a part of this? How did we get here? What caused the uproar to begin with, can we talk about that, sis? Whether we want to admit it or not, we’ve all been in the room. If we’re Americans, we have in one way or another witnessed and taken part in this violence against the Black community. We’ve either been contributors, defenders, or by-standers. Now we’re all feeling the collective consequence of our “decisions.”
If you’ve been unlucky enough to suffer an injury (or if you’re just not 12 years old anymore), your body probably aches or ails from time to time. It’s how our body alerts us of an issue. If I’m upset, stressed, tired, or under duress, my throat hurts. It’s my personal weak point. I wake up and there it is, unbeknownst to me. It’s my body’s alarm to wake up and take care of myself. I’ll take zinc, hydrate more, be more mindful of my energy management and mental space throughout the day and make sure I get lots of rest before I get sick. If I ignore it, I suffer the consequences. I suffer the damage to my body, the loss of time, etc. It’s the same thing with our collective body.
We are one body in this society, in this body we call America. Our body has been aching, and it’s been telling us for a long time how much it’s been hurting. We’ve ignored it.
Has it turned into a cancer? Is it still treatable? We’ll see. Let’s do something about it. It can seem inane shooting out a simple text, but it counts and it's important. Text “Floyd” to this number: 55156 to sign the petition and demand justice for George Floyd. It’s a small, significant way to show our support to a community that’s our friend, neighbor, coworker, our fellow human—to show that we care whether they live or die. And seriously, we text all day. Just saying. And let's not forget to pray. #prayerworks
Please, care.
This counts. What you do matters. Your action or indifference will affect you, the future of your loved ones and will shape the fabric of our society. Please, care.
“If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.”
See you next week, friends. -Renee