Sometimes you have to Wonder how responsive you should be to those voices… Not that #OhShit quick reminder voice …but that deeper voice. The one you usually challenge, push back on, fight- to tears – #OhShitOrSomethingElse voice.
The city of Louisville, KY had become a very challenging place to live in the midst of COVID19 and Black Livers Matter #BLM Movement. Say her name Breonna Taylor, a 26-year-old African American woman, was fatally shot in her Louisville, Kentucky, apartment on March 13, 2020, when white plainclothes officers Jonathan Mattingly, Brett Hankison, and Myles Cosgrove of the Louisville Metro Police Department (LMPD) forced entry into the
apartment as part of an investigation into drug dealing operations. As I watched my daily dosage of news surrounding both events #ohshitorsomethingelse allowed me to see myself heading back toward the fat farm.
Truth is, everyone was hurting. Both the pandemic and movement were impacting individual lives in ways they hadn’t planned. I knew that personally I had to make a response to action, and I heard #ohshitorsomethingelse say, “You Are Grounded.” After working virtually from home that day I walked the best 3 miles I’d walked in weeks and vowed to #ohshitorsomethingelse that #igotit.
I’d imagine there are some words that you never expect to hear as an adult like: Your Grounded! I immediately began to search Google for Grounding a practice I sought in the midst of owning some personal anxiety years ago. Grounding, also called earthing, is a therapeutic technique that involves doing activities that “ground” or electrically reconnect you to the earth. This practice relies on earthing science and grounding physics to explain how electrical charges from the earth can have positive effects on your body.
I noticed that I had neglected the steps around brick and mortar; and needed to challenge myself to meet my daily step goals. Along with diet these steps had assured me a better blood pressure reading and controlled weight. So being Grounded wasn’t so bad especially if it meant doing something, I loved that I hadn’t prioritized enough. Iroquois Park connected my success of a 40-pound weight loss journey. I was in a familiar place and felt the urge to run barefoot in the grass and found a new connectivity that was much needed grounded energy.
This Grounded Energy has recently challenged me to my first marathon. And own that life offers a switch that sometimes only by being grounded are you better able to focus on you. There isn’t an end to COVID19 or #BLM and I’ll continue to be reminded that whatever finds me in this life. That it finds me GROUNDED!
Duane Wright is an educator, community organizer and fitness enthusiast.
