Another low tide morning. It was lower than I’ve seen it before, and I could see lots of stuff I haven’t seen before. The delicate grasses that, covered by water, just look like dark blobs, hide sea stars and snails and hermit crabs and tiny fish. In the crevasses are innumerable anemones, chitons, and urchins.
There is a woman I often see on my morning walks who is as amazed by and curious about the sea and its creatures as I am. This morning we were wondering together about some of the more bizarre creatures and their lives.
As I continued my walk, I thought how amazing it would be if we were all more curious about what lies beneath the surface of our lives. If we would look intently at what has been hidden too long beneath the veneer of politeness, shame, and fear.
I am reading Robin DiAngelo’s book, White Fragility, and am finding it a helpful tool as I examine my own privilege as a white person who has grown up and lived swimming in a sea of entitlement that I have only recently begun to see more clearly.
It is not always comfortable to look deeper at oneself. Too often shame leads us to denial, and because we do not suffer negative effects of racism on a daily basis, we can simply choose not to do this work.
We have the privilege of waiting for high tide to come and cover up the ugliness, at least for a while.
But, friends, if we do that, we are missing out on so much beauty. Join me in exploring the tide pools within ourselves and our society. Let’s be curious about what lies hidden. When it scares us or makes us uncomfortable, we will face it together. And when we find beauty, we will celebrate it together.
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