Good morning, and Happy Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.
In light of the legend, I wanted to take a sec before my post and share with you words from a speech MLKJ gave at Cornell College in 1962:
“I am convinced that men hate each other because they fear each other. They fear each other because they don’t know each other, and they don’t know each other because they don’t communicate with each other, and they don’t communicate with each other because they are separated from each other.”
This couldn’t be more right. The only reason why people fear and hate others who have done no wrong is because they don’t understand those people. They put up walls and cut off communication, eliminating any chance to get to know why those people are the way they are. But as soon as we understand others, our fear and hate subside.
Today, take time to understand what you fear and hate. Break down your walls and do some research. You can even go talk to the community you’re wary of. Just try to understand what they feel and why they live the way they do, and see how that changes you.
In the US, communities that tend to be most feared and hated are immigrants, people of color, LGBTQ+, the homeless, the elderly, the disabled, and the low income. However, there are many other communities in this country that are equally feared and hated, and there are even more communities throughout the rest of the world that are even more feared and hated than ones inside this country. They all deserve some research today.
So, no matter where in the world you live, pick a community that you fear and/or hate, and get information about it straight from the community itself. Once you’ve gained some knowledge and understanding of what they believe, see how you can help. CNN has a page here dedicated to news about the biggest issues in the world and how you can help resolve them. Read up, and take action. There’s even more on MLKJ Day and what you can do to celebrate the holiday today (and they used the same quote as me in their article 🥳).
If what you want to help with isn’t on CNN’s page, then a quick Google search can lead you in the right direction of how to support the community you have now come to understand.
There is action both big and small that we can all take to make this world a better, more equal place. Let’s honor MLKJ and take action in some way today.
Now for my post 🙂
Because I have today off, yesterday we took an all day hiking trip.
We went to a state park that connects to a national park and hiked for a little over 3 hours.
It was so peaceful and relaxing. It’s been a long time since we were in nature like that, and it was so snowy and cold (16 degrees Fahrenheit) that no one else was out there. Having a whole mountain to ourselves to explore was just the most serene thing.
We didn’t find a way to the peak, but we were totally fine with that. Just being in the pines with all the snow was more than enough!
We used to go hiking every weekend in the winter, cause it’s honestly so much nicer than in the summer when it’s all hot and buggy. But we haven’t really gone much this year, and I’m not sure why. We are gonna change that, though, and try to go every weekend again.
Also, later in the evening, we ended up getting some take out 🙈🙊
One sausage and one plant-based burger that we each split 🥰 So I guess it wasn’t too horrible, especially considering that 3 hours of hiking burned a whole day’s worth of calories for each of us. Speaking of which, if you plan on hiking for a long period of time, bring food!! A 160 lb person generally burns 440-ish calories per hour of hiking. So you’ll definitely need to replenish your energy while on the trail. We typically bring fruit and some sort of protein 💪🏻 Yesterday we planned on having a picnic, so we packed fruit, boiled eggs, sesame rice balls, Sun Chips, and a little bit of chocolate. Turned out to be too cold and snowy to stop anywhere, so we ate the fruit and chocolate while we hiked 😋 and ate the eggs and Sun Chips on the way home.
Also something I want to mention is that, if you’re going to go hiking in the winter, please make sure you dress warm! We had both leggings and sweatpants on, super thick socks, a shirt, a sweatshirt, a vest, a heavy-duty winter coat, a thick hat, thick gloves, and waterproof hiking boots. It’s very important to dress appropriately, or else you can get in a bad situation very fast. Like getting to the top of a mountain and suddenly being way too cold to make it down. Or not wearing the right shoes and slipping and falling and hurting yourself. Dress appropriately to not endanger yourself!
Finally, out of curiosity, how do you decompress on the weekends? Honestly, hiking and being out in nature is pretty much my only way to instantly de-stress. If I don’t get outside for at least an hour each day, I feel gross and can’t function. But I know everyone is different, so I’m curious to hear how you all relax and unwind! (If I can’t make it outside, I like to light candles and write or do something creative.)
And that is all! Thanks so much for reading, and remember to go out and make a difference today! Until next time ❤
ireallyhateconverse 