National Geographic Leads From Love
This article from National Geographic about looking inward at its racist past struck me deeply. Through an introspective approach to devoting a month to the topic of race, they took a courageous step that most of the world still resists with all its might—that of looking truth square in the eye in order to come out the other side a little more whole.
I grew up reading National Geographic. As I’ve spent the past few years exploring my privilege and conditioning, it occurs to me that some of it came from here. That’s not to blame them, but to reveal some of my own truth as they share theirs. I didn’t have the slightest clue that this stuff was racist back then.
This move exemplifies several of the principles of The Metamodel. Namely, learning about yourself before the world and loving yourself so that you can share your love. Finally, they achieved the ultimate outer action of the fourth movement, learning to lead by sharing their truth.
Why do we cling to the versions of history that protect the status quo? Well, that’s one of the main thing our egos do. They protect our comfort and sense of tribal approval because being kicked out of the tribe is comparable to death at the level of human instinct.
It’s time for us to follow National Geographic’s lead and find the courage to look inward so that we, too, may find the healing that will allow us to come together truly as the human race.