In My Grandmother’s Hands, I described America’s racial reckoning in this way:
"While we see anger and violence in the streets of our country, the real battlefield is inside our bodies. If we are to survive as a country, it is inside our bodies where this conflict will need to be resolved.
The conflict has been festering for centuries. Now it must be faced. For America, it is an unavoidable time of reckoning. Our character is being challenged, and the content of that character is being revealed….
Americans have reached a point of peril and possibility. We will either grow up or grow smaller. This trauma will either burst forth in an explosion of dirty pain,[1] or provide the necessary energy and heat for white Americans to move through clean pain and heal. Only this second outcome will provide us with genuine safety."

When I wrote those words in 2017, I envisioned an either/or choice that we Americans would soon make. But that’s not what happened. We Americans chose to go down both paths at once.

This both-at-once choice has greatly increased our peril – but it has also greatly increased our opportunities for healing. It may be that a huge, nationwide explosion of dirty pain will be followed by a period of intense growth and renewal.

You and I can’t know how all of this will play out. But the reckoning is upon us – and you are part of it.

Find a quiet, safe spot where you can be alone for a few minutes. Sit quietly and comfortably for half a minute. Take a few deep breaths.

Then read the words below aloud. Repeat each sentence three times:

  • The Reckoning is here.
  • I live in a time of great peril and great possibility.
  • I do not and cannot know what will emerge.
  • As the future unfolds, I will act from the best parts of myself.

As you read these words, notice what you experience in your body. Take note of any:

  • vibrations
  • images and thoughts
  • meanings, judgments, stories, and explanations
  • behaviors, movements, actions, impulses, and urges
  • affect and emotions
  • sensations

Pay special attention to any urges, any constriction, and any sensation near the bottom of your belly. Notice any pressure, textures, speed, rhythms, direction, weight, or charge that emerges.

You may experience clean pain, such as dread or fear. You may experience a pleasurable sensation, such as relief or release. You might experience both pain and pleasure together.

Take a few more deep, slow breaths.

Then scan your body and notice any places that want to be touched. For the next minute or two, using one of both hands, touch each of these spots in whatever way it wants to be touched – for example:

  • lightly pressing
  • gently squeezing or gripping
  • rubbing
  • holding or supporting

You may also want to simply let the palm of your open hand hover above the spot, an inch or two away, for a few breaths…. Invite this body practice into your life as often as you like. As our racial reckoning unfolds, make a point of doing it whenever you sense peril and possibilities growing. If you like, soul scribe[2] about it.

[1] Dirty pain is the pain of avoidance and denial. We create dirty pain when we act from the smallest and most wounded parts of ourselves….

[2] Soul scribing simply means pausing, paying close attention to the vibrations; images and thoughts; meanings, judgments, stories, and explanations; behaviors, movements, actions, impulses, and urges; affect and emotions; sensations your body experiences in that moment, and then noting those experiences in writing. Soul scribing help you access information from all of your body’s intelligences…. You can soul scribe using brief notes, lists, or your own personal shorthand. This might include abbreviations, emojis, pictures, or whatever else you like. (If you want to be more detailed – for example, if you want to keep an embodied journal or diary – that’s fine, too.)

— Resmaa Menakem in The Quaking of America