If I body-shame a woman, it is more a reflection of me being critical of my body, me not being able to keep up to certain standards I have, and so making sure that the women around me feel the same way.
Rupi KaurRead
The trauma of South Asian people escapes the confines of our own times. We're not just healing from what's been inflicted onto us as children... it is generations of pain embedded into our souls.
Interpretation
This quote speaks to the lasting impact of trauma across generations, particularly among South Asian people.
Rupi Kaur's quote emphasizes that the trauma experienced by South Asian individuals is not limited to their immediate experiences but is a profound legacy carried from one generation to the next. It suggests that this inherited pain is deeply ingrained in their identities and requires a collective healing process that acknowledges both past and present struggles.
In practice
This quote can be used in a mental health awareness seminar to discuss intergenerational trauma.
If I body-shame a woman, it is more a reflection of me being critical of my body, me not being able to keep up to certain standards I have, and so making sure that the women around me feel the same way.
There have been articles saying that all women need to read my book. I ask, why not all men? In fact, that would be even more valuable because we women want to sit down with men and tell them - this is how we feel, this is what we go through.
When I was little, my dad told me about Anandpur Sahib and the court of Guru Gobind Singh. That we came from a tradition of poets, warriors and artists who created when it was illegal to create... we're groomed to be reckless in the defense of what we feel is right.
I wasn't entitled to dream so big. The idea of me being a writer wasn't even possible in my mind. Even when I began to write and first published, I couldn't call myself a writer.
The way a small child might dream of visiting Disneyland, I dreamed of writing books. Never did I think my poems would become that.
I was always writing for myself. I wrote what I needed to write and hear - that's what makes it powerful.
Heroes are people who rise to the occasion and slip quietly away.
I thought you were supposed to be the champion of your people,' I said. I live because I need to do that. For anyone who is left.' Don't you see? No one will be left. Protect them now or there will be no one to protect!' This is a battle that goes on and on. It never ends. You're too young to understand. No! You're too much of a coward to fight.' I was sick of lies and secrets and of battles so old we had to erase who we were to fight back. And still we lost. Still we were tied to posts.
If he must be alone, he would make solitude his armor.
I expect to plead not for the slave only, but for suffering humanity everywhere. Especially do I mean to labor for the elevation of my sex.
Many Tibetans sacrifice their lives.
I condemn racism on all levels, whether personal or systemic.
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