I came across a photo a good friend of mine in Instagram today. I almost didn’t recognize her. Maybe it’s because she usually posts photos of other things, like things she makes and things she finds beautiful. But now it seems she personally fits in that category for herself, as she seems to have gotten really fit and strong. This joyful, expressive, beautiful human being I have come to know over the years was still all those things, but now she seemed to have even more energy, and was celebrating the strength and healthy of her body as well. Having put on some COVID pounds and feeling the muscle melt off my body these days, my first thought was this: I want to call her and ask her what she has been doing to get those results. But instead, I just commented in her post how much she inspired me. Because I remembered: It’s never complex. It’s just about doing the work every day, making the healthy choices, doing things differently than you’ve done. Day by day. It’s about DTFW (Doing The Fucking Work). In many ways, that has been my mindset with doing anti-racism work—nothing rocket sciencey. No one book, training, or behavior will have me finally be an anti-racist. It’s just choosing to pick up the book and read. Trying the new behavior and learning. Getting uncomfortable and feeling my feelings. Quietly simple, not loudly transformative. This is what I’m thinking about the day after the people elected Joe and Kamala into office—celebration and relief, yes. And also a fervent wish that now more of us with DTFW of dismantling the systemic racism that is baked into our nation, reimagining and rebuilding something we can truly be proud of.
Want to know what these daily verses are all about? Read here to learn what inspired this practice on my birthday post, November 1st.
