I remember when I first began practicing mindfulness in 2005. At that time, I was in the middle of deep depression, wrestling with identity crises, and drowning in anxiety. Turning my awareness inward became the shift that changed everything. For the first time, I could see my thoughts and emotions with clarity, and I began to feel a sense of wellbeing I hadn’t known before.
Has mindfulness made me invisible to stress or the challenges of life? No. But it has given me something greater: the understanding of how my mind and emotions work. It expanded my awareness and allowed me to become a better person, while also helping me guide others toward their own healing.
This is the same experience I wish to share with youth through the African American Culture & Contemporary Issues (AACCI) program at William Fleming High School. One reason this program has been so successful is because I can relate to the children. I come from the same environments many of them do. Every day I step into class, I see it as a day to plant seeds of mindfulness, wellness, and self-awareness reminding them that change always starts within. Change begins with the man or woman in the mirror.
This philosophy is both new and ancient. To this generation, and even to generations before them, it may feel like something fresh. But one of humanity’s oldest questions has always been: Who am I? In fact, one of the oldest African proverbs teaches us: “Know thyself.”
Teaching Youth the Power of Inner Peace
When I first began practicing mindfulness in 2005, I was in the middle of depression, identity crises, and overwhelming anxiety. Turning my awareness inward changed everything. For the first time, I could observe my thoughts and emotions clearly, and I began to feel a new sense of balance and wellbeing.
Mindfulness hasn’t made me immune to stress or life’s challenges. But it has helped me understand the workings of my own mind and emotions. It has taught me self-mastery. More importantly, it has given me a foundation to help others, especially young people, on their own journeys of healing.
This is why the African American Culture & Contemporary Issues (AACCI) program at William Fleming High School has found success. I can connect with the students because I come from the same environments many of them do. Every day in class is a chance to plant seeds of mindfulness, wellness, and self-awareness. I remind them that change starts within. Change begins with the man or woman in the mirror.
This way of life may feel new to today’s generation, but in truth it is ancient. One of humanity’s oldest questions has always been: Who am I? An African proverb answers simply: “Know thyself.” Yet so many adults, people with degrees, careers, and worldly accomplishments, still do not know who they truly are. They continue chasing external achievements while neglecting the inner peace that can never be bought.
Even Klay Thompson, one of the greatest basketball players of our time, recently admitted that what he looks forward to discovering more than anything is inner peace. Here is a man with fame and fortune, yet at the top of his list of life goals is something entirely internal.
What if we built a culture around that? What if inner peace, not wealth or status, became our highest achievement? What if schools and institutions placed as much value on self-awareness as they do on grades or trophies? Imagine how different our world could be.
Inner peace, to me, is not the absence of suffering but the ability to transform suffering into wisdom. It is learning to be steady even in life’s storms. And this is what I hope to continue teaching our youth, the power of self-mastery, letting go of limitations, and unlocking the genius within.
This is more than just education. It is both modern and ancient, timely and timeless. And it is needed now more than ever.
Because the only way out…is in.
