Gratitude is the way forward. Let me show you why.

In today’s world it’s easy to get wrapped up in the moment. So much content being produced and shared at any given moment. I am grateful for the opportunity to be a part of your life, even if it’s just for a few minutes. It’s July 5th, we just celebrated our Independence Day here in the US, and we have so much work to do as a nation. That doesn’t mean that we haven’t done an incredible amount in the 244 years since we claimed our independence. It just means that we have more to do in order to fulfill a more perfect union.

Despite all of our imperfections I am grateful to be born in this country, during this era. There is not a single person alive today who can claim with any seriousness that people were better off at any other point in human history. We live during a time where we can get unlimited amounts of information from a device we carry in our pocket. Yet there is work yet to be done.

This fundamental principle is what I believe makes America great. Our past isn’t pretty. Giant mistakes were made. Yet here we all stand… We are alive in a time period where there is more opportunity for all than at any other point in human history. Of course we must fight to root out evil and continue to build a more perfect union. For me this means two things: 1. We need to have the ugly conversation about the wrongs that have been done. 2. We need to accept and move on from those wrongs.

We can’t move forward without listening, accepting, and moving on from the past. When we encounter racism in the future we need to address the instance and move forward. We cannot continue to revisit the past every time an individual acts out in a manner we all deem unacceptable.

As a palm skin individual I understand that people that look like me did horrendous things in the past. I am not able to go back in time and fix that. The only thing I can do is treat every individual I meet with dignity and respect. That’s it. Nothing more. Nothing less. I cannot apologize for pale skin racists from the past just like I cannot apologize for the men out there that abuse women. I can only apologize for things that I have personally done wrong. I can sit down and listen to the pain others have experienced and empathize with them. That I can do. That I will do. I will not however, sit down and be brow beaten and made to feel guilty for something I had no part in.

Gratitude gives the individual the strength they need to move forward. We cannot be fully open to the possibilities of the future without truly accepting and putting away the past.