First of all, I want to thank you all for the amazing support I received in response to my last post. I was a bit nervous about writing something political in this space, but the importance of standing by my convictions outweighed any discomfort I might have felt.

You know, I’ve been reading a lot of posts on Facebook lately saying that people need to “calm down” and “stop crying” about the election results. And I think a lot of those posts are in reference to the minority of violent protests that are happening in the US right now. (Whenever I read something like that, I always try to think of the REASONING behind such words, and try to see it from someone else’s point of view.) And it’s true, I do not agree with violence in response to violent rhetoric. But the majority of protests have been peaceful, something that’s not as “newsworthy” as the violent outliers.

But besides that point, I do not agree with those statements I’ve been reading on Facebook. The problem with saying something like that is twofold. 1. People have been experiencing REAL discrimination in direct response to the election results; and 2. YOU DO NOT GET TO TELL SOMEONE ELSE WHETHER OR NOT THEIR FEARS ARE VALID.

First let me address point one. Ever since last week, people of color, LGBTQ+ people, and other marginalized groups have been facing discrimination and intolerance in direct relation to the election. And I understand that my fellow white, cisgender people may not really feel the anguish of these incidents because they are not happening to us. But like I said in my last post, these are not just words on a page – these are REAL people facing REAL discrimination. One such example really hit home with me – my friend Genevieve, of Gratitude & Greens, shared a note on her Facebook Page that her sister (who is Asian and a member of the LGBTQ+ community) received at her college in Connecticut (my home state). The note had a swastika drawn on it, with the words “Trump’s America”, and a symbol crossing out a list of derogatory names for minorities, which I will not repeat here.

I don’t even have words that could describe what that must of felt like for her, and I feel like any attempt for me to do so would just belittle the severity of the situation. All I can say is that my heart aches for Genevieve’s sister, and for ALL people who have been the target of such hate.

But this brings me to my second point – even if these things weren’t happening, ONE PERSON DOES NOT GET TO TELL ANOTHER PERSON THAT THEIR FEARS ARE INVALID. Besides that being horribly inconsiderate, it just doesn’t make sense. For example, let’s pretend that Mary is afraid of heights and Sue isn’t. Mary has a really good reason for fearing heights – you can fall from them and seriously hurt yourself. But Sue isn’t afraid of heights, and just doesn’t think about what could happen if you fall. Does it make sense for Sue to tell Mary to “calm down” and “stop crying” over heights? NO, IT MOST CERTAINLY DOESN’T.

Imagine how you would feel if someone told you that your fears, or thoughts, were invalid. Imagine telling a mother she shouldn’t worry about her children learning how to drive, because cars have airbags. Or telling a pregnant woman that her giving birth will be fine, because a lot of them usually are. Or telling the wife of a soldier not to worry about her husband overseas, because “most of them come home anyways”. DO YOU SEE HOW ABSURD THAT IS? Let me just bring it home one more time –

YOU DO NOT GET TO TELL SOMEONE ELSE WHETHER OR NOT THEIR FEARS ARE VALID.

Instead, here’s a good thing to do: have compassion. Put yourself in someone else’s shoes. Try to understand where they’re coming from. Look past your experiences, and see the world from someone else’s eyes. And above all, treat others how YOU would want to be treated.

God bless.

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Maca Hot Chocolate

This superfood maca hot chocolate is the perfect warming sip for autumn, made with real cacao and sweetened naturally with maple syrup.

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 5 minutes minutes

Total Time 15 minutes minutes

Servings 2 -3

Ingredients

• 4 Cups Unsweetened Almond Milk
• 1/2 Cup Raw Cacao Powder
• 1 Tbs Maca Powder
• 1/4 Cup Maple Syrup
• Pinch of Cinnamon

Instructions

• Add almond milk, cacao, maca, maple syrup, and cinnamon to a blender and blend on high for about a minute.
• Then, add hot chocolate to a saucepan on the stove and bring to medium heat (avoid bringing it to a boil – high temperatures reduce the bioavailability of the nutrients in cacao and maca).
• Serve hot chocolate in mugs with a sprinkle of cinnamon.
• Enjoy!

Quote of the Day:

We love because he first loved us. If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother.

1 John 4:19-21

EDIT:

As I said in my last post, this blog is and always has been a SAFE SPACE for people of all ideologies and beliefs. If you disagree with anything I’ve said, I invite you to share your opinion below if you feel called to do so. The only thing I will ever ask of anyone here is that you treat others with respect.

Through this blog I have tried to promote tolerance and acceptance, and in this spirit I promote tolerance and acceptance towards those who may disagree with me. It doesn’t just go one way.

God bless to ALL.