A post shared by Elephant Journal (@elephantjournal) on May 10, 2017 at 7:32am PDT

Stigma. Hate. Fear. Ignorance.

These are all qualities that separate us, pit us against one another, and keep us living from low vibrations and unhelpful habits.

These qualities are all components of culture.
Stigma is perpetuated by the culture we live in.
Hate is an element of the world that surrounds us.
Fear is the backbone of hate.
Ignorance is the breeding ground for all of this.

So in a world that some days feels incredibly hopeless, terrifying, and unreal, how do we fight this? How do we become a more compassionate, kind, uplifting, and forward-moving people?

I believe that we can move through stigma.
I believe that we can move beyond hate.
I believe that we can stare fear in the face, and choose love anyway.
I believe that we can directly fight ignorance.

How?

With storytelling. Storytelling is the antidote to ignorance.

This is why now, more than ever, we need the arts. We need painters, fashion designers, musicians, writers, poets, photographers, journalists, makers, and creators who share art that means something.

The most noble thing we can possibly do is to share from our hearts. Whether we yell our stories from the roof tops, or sit knee to knee with someone we love and expose the deepest parts of our soul through our eyes, we need to foster connection. We need to share—as friends, as a community, as a collective.

We need to know that if we are in suffering, we are not alone in our suffering. We need others to know that if we are in surplus, our arms are open and our hearts are waiting to embrace those who are in need.

Our entire culture has the ability to change as we begin to tell our stories more loudly, more widely. The victims of sexual assault will know they are not alone; the people of colour will be embraced by their fellow humans; the religious will be welcomed, not feared; humans loving humans of the same gender will be seen as love and not an abomination; children will be both heard and seen; and the elderly will be viewed as vessels of wisdom.

Be brave enough to tell your story.

“Take your broken heart, make it into art.” ~ Carrie Fisher

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Author: Annabelle Blythe
Image: @elephantjournal/Instagram
Editor: Nicole Cameron