Dan is reading something on his phone.
He finds it interesting and shows me.
A glimpse something about immigrants problem.
I'm a man with immigrant background.
Mama is an immigrant.
Am I the problem?
Is Mama the problem?
Dan says the author himself is someone with an immigrant background.
That's not necessarily relevant.
It's called internalized oppression and this is how you get on print in Norway by saying what white Norwegians want to hear.
You don't understand,
You're white.
These things would be easier if we were both queer people of color.
I realize I'm on a rant and I want to try something new.
I pause and become aware of my heart beating fast.
Blood pumping,
Muscles tensing,
Certain stories crowding my mind.
I have experienced racism in Norway.
I sense the wounds again now and how I start to fight.
I know how uncomfortable it is to be othered and I see that I'm doing it myself now.
White,
Them,
Dan.
In my mind I say a mantra instead.
We are loving awareness.
I ask Dan what the article is about and what he finds interesting.
I ask in a milder tone.
I listen,
Then I speak.
See for yourself.
Notice when you're passionate about something in a conversation,
Either live or online.
How do you feel the passion?
Pause.
Notice what's going on inside and around you.
Can you sense your heart beating faster?
Your muscles tense?
How is the breath?
Can you see and listen to the other?
Or are you mostly in your own mind and concerned with your own convictions?
Notice how the conversation is going.
Notice if you want to change the other and whether this is happening or not.
Notice if you're open to being influenced by the other.
Is it a debate increasing conflict and polarization?
Or is it a dialogue increasing understanding and love?
Become aware of how we are different,
How discrimination and different forms of oppression occur.
At the same time,
Be sure you don't get stuck in the differences,
Such as white versus racialized,
Identifying with some groups and demonizing the other.
See the differences and at the same time keep in mind our fundamental commonality that we all suffer in different ways and want to be happy.
When you are passionate about something,
How do you avoid burning out?
How do you avoid hurting others?
Maybe you can wish yourself and all of us well.
What would a better society be like?
How do you contribute to this?
Can you try to be the change you want to see?
Loving?
Peaceful?
Meditation is peace work.
It's about peace within,
But also bringing peace to relationships with others and the world as a whole.
