Human, First

We create energy and the nervous system of our society; what do violence and bias do to this?

Ayisha Elliot. Photo by Todd Cooper.

There are people in our lives that pass through our day-to-day life like shadows. 

We may or may not notice their presence. We may or may not notice when they are missing. If we do notice the perceived change, we may meet it with curiosity or with a moment of inspection. Do we notice the energy it takes to have either experience?  

Everything we do either creates or expends energy, which in my perspective initiates connection, however large or small. Some connections may indicate a more tangible meaning and therefore have more focused energy in it, around it, through it, projected onto it. Those connections transform us in ways we may believe we can control. We may believe we can control them, especially if we dismiss the concept of quantum physics. 

My point is, we are all on this planet balancing energy. We give it and take it from each other. The energy is also infinite and without boundaries. Our five senses pick up energy in different modalities and give us stories colored with our personal and shared narratives. 

What does violence do to this shared energy? Where does bias come from when energy is shared? How does love change the same energy? There are experiments showing organisms changing under the influence of softer words, or soothing musical frequencies. What is the frequency we collectively live under? Is it louder than our individual frequency? How does it influence our individual frequency? When our frequency is grace, space, understanding and patience, where do you replenish your frequency? 

These questions are important because, collectively, we create the nervous system of our society, whether or not we normalize breathing or normalize holding our breath in fear. We normalize waiting the extra three seconds to allow someone to fumble and regain their steps without rushing them out of our way. We normalize the process of loss and of grief, not as an exception but an inevitable part of our day-to-day and our every day. We have life in common. We have human tendencies to rely on. 

When you don’t know what to say or do because someone is different from you in language, culture, religion, gender expression, ethnicity, beliefs, shapes, creeds, etc etc., know this: You are all human. We laugh, we cry, we create, we love, we are insecure, we are lonely, we are joyful, we are confident, we are lost, we are scared, we have lost, we have won, we have all been here. We are human first. 

 Ayisha Elliott’s podcast Black Girl From Eugene is raw and uncensored monologues and conversations about living while Black in the PNW. Listen 11 am Sundays on FB Live; simulcast on KEPW 97.3 FM, and it can be found on all major podcasting platforms.