Pocket Change
The world feels so heavy right now; the weight of it all can feel suffocating. I was blessed to grow up with a mother who was very adamant that we read, question, and discuss as a family. She valued books over television and facts over feelings. It could get a little annoying because you couldn’t even ask a question incorrectly.
“ Can I go outside to play?” You mean “May I go outside to play?”. “ I’m so mad right now.” You mean “I’m so upset or angry.” Animals get mad, not humans.
We couldn’t even come downstairs until we brushed our teeth and washed our faces. I really thought my mom was strict, but she was actually correcting bad habits before they became behaviors. As a mother of four daughters myself, I see much of her in my own parenting. My daughters will say things like “ We don’t want to go to Abuelas because she makes us eat vegetables”. The next minute, they are crying because they miss her so much and how loved she makes them feel.
The biggest lesson I’ve learned from my mother is about true wealth. True wealth comes from knowledge and care of self. Everything she taught us was about how to take care of our bodies and minds. To not make excuses and simply change the behavior before it becomes a habit. As a child, I didn’t often recognize real love as accountability. As a woman, I understand how profound it is to have someone in your life who desires for you to be your best self.
Right now, it can feel as though we have no real power, no real ability to create change. The reality is we are all walking around with pocket change. Collectively, we have a lot; individually, not so much. We have to do two major things that have the power to create real change in the future.
Number one: SELF AWARENESS, we have to teach our children and ourselves how to be more self-aware. How are we showing up in spaces? Do we talk more than we listen? Do we judge more than we show compassion? Have we brushed our teeth and washed our faces before we’ve placed our bodies in someone else’s space? As parents, we think everything our kids do is cute, but it’s not to everyone else. Are you correcting your child’s behavior? Teaching them to be aware of those around them? Do they share, let other kids speak? Does your child understand the importance of personal space and the word NO. It is our job to teach ourselves and our children how to be more aware of the space we take up. Yes, take up space, but also not so much that nobody else has any.
Number two: GLOBAL AWARENESS, we have to teach our children and ourselves how much we matter and don’t matter. Every single thing we do affects someone on this planet. When you let your dog pee on someone else’s lawn, you are damaging their lawn, not yours. You love your dog so much and it’s your baby, but guess what, some people don’t have dogs for a reason. We have to be more mindful of our own behaviors, how we show up in this world, and how we affect our neighbors. Overconsumption of clothes, throwing things away, and not thinking twice. People in Africa and Asia are waking up to piles of clothes on their beaches and in their cities. Everything we do affects our neighbors.
Yes, we need to hold politicians accountable for their behavior, and we need to demand that they represent all people. We also need to remember that we all hold change in our pockets. We all can create real change in this world by simply holding ourselves accountable.
