From the trenches of Minneapolis
Dear Eye of the Heart Friends –
Writing to you from the trenches of South Minneapolis, I’m afraid I have nothing profound to say. My heart is broken and this quirky, caring, brave and battle-weary community I’ve called home for 30 years is besieged by occupying forces that are terrorizing and abducting my Brown and Black neighbors.
I continually fret: What is my role in this moment? And when this moment has passed and I’m looking back, will I be at peace with that role?
I don’t know. I’m still trying to figure it out.
Standing at the memorial site hours after Renee Good was murdered, a speaker at her Vigil pointed out the mere blocks to where George Floyd was also murdered and proclaimed:
“God chose us
to bear the burden
of standing up to this administration.”
I wonder: Was Minneapolis “chosen” by the Universe or some higher power? Is it coincidence that yet again this small neighborhood is the powder keg of national troubles and the eyes of the world are on us? Maybe there is an indigenous trauma in the soil of this spot that is screaming out to be healed? I don’t know.
Certainly we feel the burden.
The speaker went on to say:
“Renee Good was murdered because we didn’t get it right after George Floyd was murdered.”
Is that true? What would getting it right look like? What would it entail? What am I being called to in this moment?
Friends, I have not yet found answers to these questions, but I trust they are somewhere inside of me. I also know there are spiritual practices and bits of wisdom (handed down from mystics who lived through wars and crumbling societies of their own) to help me navigate my way to my own answers.
I’ll close by sharing that I began the new year full of ideas of what I’d like to focus on next professionally, creatively, personally. Then war came to my streets and I was reminded that we do not have control over what’s next or even if there is a next. All we really have are intentions, and we try to choose those wisely. I intend to keep my heart, head and body aligned with my deepest values, my soul, my purpose. May it be so.
Truly,
Carolyn Kolovitz
Before my city exploded, I scheduled to facilitate the online series “Moving Forward in Sync with Your Soul” starting Feb 7th. The series is a mix of discernment tools, practices, and stories that have guided me to my own answers through the years. The reflection exercises ground us in our essence—what matters most to us, what is most life-giving, our own beliefs/understandings of the Universe and our place in it.
I’ve led this series many times over the last 12 years, and while I considered canceling, I think I need to go through it now more than ever—and maybe you do too?
