Reflecting on Black Lives Matter: Change Starts With Self-awareness
By Carly Fleming, M.Ed. RP
Registered Psychotherapist
Here at everwell we believe firmly in anti-oppression, anti-racism and stand in solidarity with Black Lives Matter and all people of colour. But we understand that beliefs are no longer enough - we must put these beliefs into action.
“Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.”
As the founder of everwell it has always been my priority to create a safe place where people can work towards meaning and healing.
It is time for me to learn more about how working towards meaning and healing differs depending on an individual's lived experience of racism, stigma, oppression, exclusion and systemic bias so that I can create a place where ALL people can do this important work.
“Self-awareness is the ability to take an honest look at your life without attachment to it being right or wrong.”
Self-reflection is complicated, especially because sometimes — or perhaps often — it is challenging and uncomfortable. You have to aim higher in order to meet your potential. We must expect more from ourselves in order to reach our goals, to be our best selves. The higher we reach, the higher we go.
And while sometimes improvement is a matter of self-reflection, sometimes it’s just a missing piece. We need to learn from someone else. We need other people — people knowledgeable in the areas we’re not. Because even within our own areas of experience and knowledge, we can hit a wall. We can stagnate. We just don’t see things outside our own range of vision. For that, we need a teacher, mentor, or coach.
Because self-reflection doesn’t just change you, it changes the people around you. When you recognize the impact of your actions, and what you can do to stay accountable, then it becomes your responsibility to own your failures and put what you have learned into action.
Moving forward, I am committed to listening to and learning from the experiences of people of colour; engaging wholeheartedly in educating myself and the everwell team about creating active inclusion for all who seek to work with everwell; and creating policies that promote and protect diversity and representation in our everwell community.
Thank you from the bottom of my heart for supporting the work we do at everwell. I welcome your feedback and perspective.
Carly