The Opposite of Love is Apathy
I Love you!
Hi Love!
I remember a Facebook post of a sign in Halifax which said something like this:
I Love You.
If people can hate
for no reason,
then I can love
for no reason.
I think that is my natural position. I won’t get into a nurturing, theological, upbringing discussion here. Suffice it to say, hate is not an expression I use often, at least not with people and other living beings. But it is creeping into my vocabulary more and more as I become more aware of systems and crises around me.
Funny thing about the word hate, it is often used to disguise underlying words and feelings. My niece hates spiders. She’s scared of them because she doesn’t know enough about them and she learned to be afraid from someone else, who also learned from someone else… Road-ragers hate other drivers. They are frustrated with traffic, the time crunch and that someone might get ahead. Taxpayers may say they hate filing their taxes. The paperwork and rules can be confusing, and no one wants to part with their money.
You see some of the underlying issues: fear, frustration, confusion, scarcity.
So, what happens if you politely and civilly go about your day, but some of these issues remain? You may not be actively saying you hate someone or something, but perhaps your actions, conscious or unconscious, read louder than your words.
I am uneasy in a predominantly black neighbourhood and avoid it.
I don’t easily understand someone who speaks differently than I do so I don’t hire them.
History in school didn’t teach me the whole story, so what do I do now that I know I live, work, and play on land that was stolen?
I follow the rules, but the rules don’t seem to be universal.
I’ll just ask my Black co-worker how she feels about this topic.
That, my friends, is racism. It is the system we are part of. I want to explore it with you. It won’t be easy. But it must be done.
Co-Creators of a New World Natalie Moyes 2021
I believe people who have identified as white women need to have conversations about what that means in terms of power, expectations, resources, and legacies. I believe art can help that exploration by providing a safe container for expression, an alternative to words, a way of including your body, and a means to bypass that part of you trying to protect you from what you know intuitively.
The painting above is an example of that process. You can read about it in the blog post Co-Creators of a New World. Intentional Creativity takes the process of making art, and surrounds it with ritual, sacred space, compassionate community, mindfulness and intention. When you tried a Dynamic Doodle, you experienced a small taste of that transformation.
“The need for change bulldozed a road down the center of my mind.”
My sacred work - to guide women using creativity to reveal their inner wisdom, as they discover why they think the way they do and re-write their stories. That includes the conscious and unconscious biases of systemic racism.
How can I work with you to make these changes?
Drop me a line at natalie@nataliemoyes.com
I look forward to witnessing and connecting with you.
Blessings,
Natalie
To sign up for my newsletter and find out about coaching and classes
