Sweet but Puzzling Times in Texas

During the month of June I spent a majority of my time in Austin with family. I had not seen them since Christmas and it was a welcome change from being stuck in Jackson by myself for 3 months. It has been a struggle to find motivation to run or do anything productive during this Pandemic knowing that a lot of events and plans are up in the air at this point.

Luckily the change of scenery and being around people brought me back from that place. I spent some time supporting a few of my favorite local businesses in the Austin area: Bookwoman and Sweet Ritual. I ended up buying a bunch of ice cream and a few books/puzzles. I have never been excited to talk about puzzles with a cashier. (Wearing mask of course.) I spent time running some of the trails in Austin.

I also hung out with family and relatives, too. These last few weeks have been filled with some deep conversation about race and the police. In some ways it felt meaningful but a lot to unpack. Some people are just waking up to what's going on and so these conversations won't change minds in a day. It might seem great to talk about every single issue going on in the world today but sometimes it might be best to take it one day at a time so that people can process it. People hold on to their beliefs and convictions for dear life, that anything that opposes those beliefs shatters the armor they built around them. These conversations need to be ongoing with friends and family in order to have a lasting impact.

There are people who haves doubts about what our current administration is doing and are looking for answers. In a way that's a good sign that our country might be turning a corner. People want to feel safe in this country. Unfortunately there is a level of uncertainty with the way our leaders are handling issues from CoVid to police brutality.   It's up to us to listen to what is on other people's minds while having these uncomfortable conversations.  It's also up to us to check our own privilege and speak up when something seems problematic in the spaces we are in.

The one thing CoVid has given us is the time to process and learn about what's happening in our country. It's also been a time to reflect on ourselves. How have you used this time to improve yourself?