There’s a life coach named Jim Fannin who’s been quoted as saying “you are what you think.”  It’s not necessarily a thought or idea that he invented, but it is a profound concept nevertheless.  It teaches us that whether we think we can or we think we can’t, we are right.  In other words, where goes the brain and the thoughts contained within, so goes the body and the life.

I raise this because lately there has been, rightly so, a great deal of coverage in the media about police interactions with people of color, and about issues of racism generally.  The events leading up to these stories are tragic, and, hopefully, what will come of the enhanced scrutiny on racism caused by these tragic incidents is a greater sensitivity to issues of race, racism, and how authorities and minority communities interact.

In the meantime, though, with our attention so focused on this issue, we should not overlook the number of people of all colors who are getting along harmoniously, coexisting not just peacefully by synergistically contributing to each other’s lives.

I’m not saying that we should, for even one moment, stop demanding that attention be paid to racism or that we should not be outraged by or energized to speak up and take action against wrongs and injustices.  However, when possible, we need also to be dynamic about celebrating when racism is actually being overcome, whether it’s within a multiracial family unit, a community, a nation or the World.  For just as an individual is what he or she thinks they are, a society will ultimately be what the people within it believe and think.

For more on this and to join the conversation on #multiracial families, please join me on Twitter using the hashtag #multiracialfamilyman or check out my podcast, Multiracial Family Man on iTunes at: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/multiracial-family-man/id969793342?mt=2