Clearing Customs

My 31-Day AAPI Series, unlearning traditions that I have inherited

Photo Credit: Jayden Tan

What is tradition?
What is a custom?
Why do we hold onto them so dearly?
Who benefits from their existence?

Don’t get me wrong
I don’t think everything that has been passed down through culture
Is inherently wrong

The one thing I’ve learned from spending so much time
Writing “Legendary”
Is that we must all start to use our own critical thinking
If we want to learn to navigate where we belong in this society
And on this Earth

May is AAPI Heritage Month; and
June is Pride Month
And I always feel there is a huge energy boost within two months
On the intersectionality of my identity
Especially as we continue to navigate this current administration
And its challenges

I have created a community of incredible individuals
In conversation across all my social media platforms
And I really wanted to do something helpful
To encourage each and every one of us to challenge
And navigate our individual challenges
A lot which stems from what we inherited from our parents and our ancestors

I created a free resource for everyone to start your own journeys as well

Before I share what that is at the end of this article,
Let’s get into today’s topic of discussion:

The Art of Letting Go

I’d like to treat this as a three step approach:

Step one: Identify the issue.
If you cannot articulate the issue,
You will not be able to release it if you haven’t been willing to look at it directly.

A lot of what we carry feels like it is etched in stone.
It feels like just the way things are.
The work of step one
Is learning to tell the difference between something that is true
And something you were simply taught so early
That it has become part of your routine.

Step two: This is perhaps contradictory to what you might believe