Psychological, emotional, relational, physical and spiritual health is the right of every person and the goal of Inspirit Counseling Services, for every person who seeks our care. Offering an attitude of profound respect, acceptance and care for the individual person and their relationships, enables our clients to begin attaining greater self-esteem, dignity, hope and healthy, nurturing relationships. We know that this disposition fosters deep-seated and long lasting healing, change and growth toward personal wholeness.

But this goal cannot be fully accomplished in a society which suppresses the rights of individuals seeking harmony with each other.

We have an American crisis. This crisis did not start with the horror of the most recent tragic loss of Black lives. Since the dawn of our nation, inequality and injustice have permeated our culture and communities for generations, inflicting unfathomable numbers of innocent lives with fear, pain, death, grief and anger.

This crisis in our country has consequences that continue to disproportionately affect the lives of Black men, women and children in our communities in many areas of life, including healthcare. It is a crisis that can only begin to be solved if it is owned both individually and collectively. A systemic evil of fear, hatred, rejection, separation and exclusion can only be transformed by an attitude of unconditional love, acceptance, togetherness and full inclusion.

What is there to be afraid of? The reality of the COVID19 pandemic shows us more than ever, the reality that we are all one people in need of caring for each other. If as a human race it is easy to be fully engaged and invested in fighting the crisis of the Coronavirus which threatens our lives, how can we not be equally engaged and invested in ridding our nation and the world of the disease of racial injustice? This plague of humanity has been far more pervasive and has claimed many more lives.

As with any crisis, simple acknowledgement of the issue is not enough. It is time to take action and work for changes and cures.

Listening with empathy and openness is at the core of healing in counseling. Let us listen to and empathize with each other so we can build unity in diversity. Let us search our hearts for obstacles to truth and love and rid our minds of notions of inequality and injustice. Let us pray for each other as we pray for guidance and strength in the face of evil. Let us take action which transform ourselves, our community, our country and our one human race.

We will listen. We will learn. We will pray. We will act.