One year on

Who doesn’t get nostalgic on a birthday?

One year on from publishing Oo! That’s A Bit Racey! I indulged in half an hour of nostalgia. I looked back through all of my posts, and thought about what I’ve learnt personally, what others have helped me understand, and what I’ve put out there into my circle of influence.

Today’s post is a summary of some of the most pertinent points that some of the wonderful people I’ve spoken with have shared with me.

To introduce this anniversary post, I’ll start with some quotations from my first posts….they remind me of why I’m here, chatting to you.

The whole world is on a journey right now. At least, the whole world has an opportunity to be.

Discussion is the most important thing we can commit to if we’re going to learn together as a society.

It’s not easy. It’s not comfortable. But it is important.

More of us are making a difference .

Four actions for all of us

In “A is for anti-racism”, Caroline Forbes explained her perspective on what we can all do to be actively anti-racist.

Talk about race, equality and change.

Call out racism. Challenge the racism you see among your colleagues, friends, relatives.

Educate people – invite them to self educate and put themselves in others’ shoes.

Join diversity initiatives in your work place – or start them.

Celebrate diversity.

We can all bloom

Celebration was the theme of “Bloom, Flow, Celebrate.” I learnt more about the power we all hold within ourselves from Deshaun, founder of Bloom and Flow, who explained the meaning behing some of her beautiful artwork.

“Peace of Mind” reflects on the importance of finding peace.

“Constantly Evolving” on the fact that we’re all from everywhere, in different stages and from different places.

“Bloom” is a call to action to take up space, to step into your power.

“Bloom and Flow” reminds us that learning to go with the flow enables us to blossom. And when we’re in bloom, we have the strength to make a difference in the world.

Self care and purpose

Self development and anti-racism is challenging. In “The power of words, self care and purpose” I asked Jyoti Chadda, founder of My Wellness Company how can we look after ourselves.

Here’s what she calls her “daily non-negotiables”.

Find the right time for you to be you every day.

Use your devices with purpose.

Meditate.

Practice gratitude.

The Big Five

And in my latest interview, “The Big Five” with Adam Brett, I widened my learning to think about all individuals.

It was a treasured conversation filled with Adam’s wisdom such as this:

Empathy and self-awareness go hand in hand.

You may not know what it feels like to be Black, or gay, or trans, or disabled, but you may know what it feels like to be the only *something* in a room.

Putting yourself in the shoes of someone who is more marginalised isn’t too much a reach for any of us.

Thank you

The last word in this “birthday party” speech is thank you. Thank you to everyone who’s come along the journey so far with me. And thank you for everyone making a difference in their own way.