This was first posted in November of 2016
The night of the election, I watched an episode of this season’s Parts Unknown. Anthony Bourdain visits Houston to take a look at how diverse it has become from the immigrant tradition of America. It was a beautiful episode, and a nice respite before the crushing election that was to come. But I want to focus on one part of the episode and hopefully come back in a way that can provide some hope, and maybe a practical action you can integrate into your life.
During his trip, Bourdain visits an ESL class at a school where 80% of the student body’s first language is not English. The class begins with positive affirmations repeated by the class.
Today is a beautiful day.
I will work hard.
I am important.
I will succeed.
Watching it I felt profoundly moved hearing all of those kids say these things loudly and proudly. How rare it is for a kid, or an adult, to express such things to others, let alone to themselves. And how much more empowering for kids in a completely new country, in a completely different language, to express this and feel it inside themselves.
It also rang true to me. I’ve been experimenting with positive affirmations in the morning each day for about 5 months now. I simply say each morning, while I make my bed, maybe with some light stretching: I am kind. I am patient. I am curious. I am happy. I am compassionate. I am forgiving. I am open. I am here. Happy. Healthy. Strong. Love.
Saying that this has radically changed my life sounds false to me at first, until I think about it. I am still naturally impatient and selfish. But saying this every morning at least puts me in the right mindset, on the right path, to come back to it throughout my day. Sometimes it feels like I’m just going through the motions, but surprisingly often, I truly feel it, and it does radically change my day. It gives me the same feeling I felt when I watched those kids repeat their own affirmations.
I went to Austin, Texas right after the election and I had a wonderful, beautiful time. I interacted with a lot of different people. In the back of my mind I was trying to formulate some way to write about this election, this time we live in now, based on this experience. But I don’t want to write about the election. I also don’t want to preach to the choir. I’m sure if you’re reading this you may have similar beliefs, and you’re a good person who just wants what’s best for yourself, your family and friends, and the world. But in light of this episode, and in light of the hate filled speech that guy used throughout his campaign, and won the election with, I wanted to share one story from my trip that rings home with this segment of Parts Unknown.
I was getting a ride home at the end of the night from Gabriel. Gabriel ended up sharing that he was a Rwandan genocide survivor. He wasn’t much older than me, so he must’ve been really young when he escaped. After he escaped, he lived in a refugee camp for 10 years. No electricity, no running water, no toilets. 10 years. Finally he was allowed to relocate, and he narrowed the options given to him down to America, down to Texas, and finally to Austin, where he’s made a living and enjoyed life ever since. Just as powerful as his story was the genuineness he gave off in just a 15 minute car ride. He seemed like a sweet man, a happy man. And he’d gone through hell to get to this point.
As a country and as people we’re going to have to go through a lot of shit moving forward. It’s easy to focus solely on ourselves and our families, and shut everyone else out, especially if they seem very different from us. It’s easy to take what we have for granted. And it’s incredibly hard to imagine how we can make a difference in our country and community, if we’re even lucky enough to have the time and resources to do so. But one thing we can all try to do is to be kinder to each other. To be open and to listen. To recognize that everyone has their our own struggles we cannot see.
In order to be kind to one another we first have to be kind to ourselves. Positive affirmations can be one way to practice being kind to yourself. Even though it might seem silly, corny, or a waste of time, it’s one of the easiest, simplest, yet most powerful ways to be kinder to ourselves each day and to remind us how we want to live while we’re here. And it’s able to be done by every one of us.
I hope you have a great Thanksgiving and can remain sane through the wonderful political talk you’ll all endure. You’ll survive.