A Prayer by Ruth King

“One last thing: don’t be afraid of getting your heart broken.  Do your work, say your prayers, then do your best. Grieve, rest, keep hate at bay, and join with others for refuge.  Don’t get too far ahead of now!  This moment is enough to digest.  Sit, breathe, open.  Don’t be a stranger to moments of freedom that may be flirting with you.  Allow racial distress to teach you how to be more human.  Sit in the heat of it until your heart is both warmed and informed, then make a conscious choice to be a light.”

May we understand and transform racial habits of harm.

May we remember that we belong to each other.

May we grow in our awareness that what we do can help or hinder racial well-being. 

May our thoughts and actions reflect the world we want to live in and leave behind.

May we heal the seeds of separation inherited from our ancestors in gratitude for this life.  

May all beings, without exception, benefit from our growing awareness.

May our thoughts and actions be ceremonies of well-being for all races.

May we honor being diverse racial beings among the human race, and beyond race.

May we meet the racial cries of the world with as much wisdom and grace as we can muster .  

~ Ruth King
Mindful of Race: Transforming Racism from the Inside Out, 2018

Ruth King is an international insight meditation teacher, life coach, diversity consultant, and author with a master’s in psychology. She teaches the ‘Mindful of Race Training’ program, which blends mindfulness meditation principles with an exploration of our racial conditioning, its impact, and our potential.  Her latest book, Mindful of Race: Transforming Racism from the Inside Out, has been referred to as healing medicine for the suffering of racism.

To see Ruth King read this prayer click here.