150: Mortality Series: 15 Min Fill Up: "If He Can Talk, He Can Breathe."

I couldn't hear anything else as I numbly watched the rest of the recording of George Floyd's death after I heard officer Thao attempt to appease the gathering crowd saying "if he can talk, he can breathe." This statement struck me because he was so distracted by assuring the crowd that he forgot to insure the safety of George Floyd pinned underneath officer Chauvin's knee. Despite his pleas, Thao let the sound of Floyd's voice be the 'all clear' that he was just fine. My people. We. All. Do This. We assume that because someone can talk, they can breathe. We assume that because they can breathe, they can function. We assume that because they are showing up to work, school, or life in general, that they are 'fine' and we should assume that they don't need anything (especially support). Well, that isn't true. George wasn't alright. Many of us are not alright and we don't find out until it is far too late. It is time to start truly checking into this human experience. You can buy all the books and read all the articles OR you can start looking inward and truly into the eyes of the people around you. You know that you know you can recognize when someone is not alright and it is time we start paying more attention. For some support on how to start making this shift, tune in to this 15 min fill up now.