Mental Health Moments: JLO and Roe

REFLECTION: How do you share what's in your heart?

Divided

There are moments in time that create shifts in the national landscape. We just experienced one on June 24th, 2022. Roe vs Wade, which protected a woman's right to choose to have an abortion, was overturned. I didn't anticipate how I would feel, but waves of emotion overtook me. I wanted to take the day off to process but when I saw my schedule for the day I thought, "They may be having feelings too" and I can have a positive impact by showing up.

On the radio, the chatter of anger paralleled with celebration just felt like noise to me and I continued to feel like I was being held under water by a ripcurrent as I struggled with my response. I knew that I needed to take some time before work to reflect on what this decision meant to me. I decided to make a floral arrangement as a form of Memoriam. I realized that I could still hold beauty and hope in my heart even as the world around me raged and celebrated.

Let's Get Loud The next day I woke up early and found myself watching "Halftime", a documentary about Jennifer Lopez. I've been a casual fan of her work throughout my life but I was incredibly inspired seeing how she used her power as a performer to make a statement during the 2020 Superbowl halftime show by artfully placing glowing cages with children inside to remark on how children were being separated from their parents at the border during that time. I remember seeing that halftime show years before and had found it haunting, beautiful, and powerful.

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Their Future

Later that morning, my child woke up cuddled up next to me on the couch. As I looked down at his sleep-tousled hair, I thought, "what rights will he have to fight for when he's older? Will he be able to love and marry who he wants to? Will he end up with a child when he's not ready?" I'm hurting right now for what women and men in the present have lost but I'm also working to transform that grief into meaningful action to protect my child's future. It can be a challenge to feel like you can make a difference in the world but every small action has an impact, you may not see it or know it, but there is a ripple effect. It's important to believe that what's in your heart matters and expressing your truth in a way that feels right for you can make a difference.

#JLO #Roevwade #mentalhealth

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