Disenchanted in this Time of Humanity

In the shadow of a calling I found myself...

                                               

Disenchanted, but still holding the Light high.

Musical Moment ~ “Bulgarian Melody” Deep Forest

This video is re-surfacing after the Alton Sterling, Philander Castile, and the mass shootings in Dallas, Tx the last few days. The fact that this video "has to" exist and is not the full conversation of "The Talk" is worst than heartbreaking, but a travesty. And, #10 just reminded me of what has happened - to multiple ethnic groups, actually - when people expect you to always smile and comply. To watch your "tone" and be managed. The next thing you discover is you and your people are enslaved, tortured, and hunted. If we don't break through the issues of what keeps us apart and fearful of each other, we can not evolve into the race of one: Human. Thinking we are separate is breaking us apart and is doing deep harm. Violence is not the answer and yet the conversation has gotten louder, but are we listening. If we can agree on nothing else, let us agree that no matter what race, religion, or affiliations, every single being on earth knows and understands one thing: LOVE. If we could just take the situations - if they are not yours, pretend you and those you love are experiencing them: beatings, murders, rapes, betrayals. Imagine that it IS your experience. Imagine it is happening to the child you would give your life up for or the partner who makes opening your eyes in the morning an extra joy or the parent who is already working three jobs to support you both and the only one who loves you unconditionally. Or it could be...anyone you love. Can you be deeply honest and say how you would feel, think, and react about it? Would it be the same as your unfettered thoughts and daily interactions right at this moment, which mostly has no threat of beatings, murders, rapes, or betrayals?

Then sprinkle on a turbulent history. People's constant suspicions and insults and please do not think that suspicion and insult is always loud and "video" ready. No, these insults are when everyone else is acknowledged but you, you're followed around stores by a person with a phone in their hand ready to call the police for...whatever they're thinking or hoping your do, or when a purse is grabbed when you walk by, or a child pulled closer, or the silent glare of hatred until you pass out of sight no longer "offending".

Vigilance and vigilantism is exhausting. It makes people edgy and poor choices inevitable. If ever there was a time to change, this is it. We can either put anger and fear aside and endeavor to see each other as allies or we can destroy each other.

We are all beautiful.

I said before that I am disappointed in us humans, but I still hold high the light of hope. I will keep looking to the heart and goodness of people and to those who are not, I will not blame your people, I will just say that one person, at that one moment, is not in harmony with me and move on. Not millions of people, but the moment with that one person. Sometimes it just takes the understanding of one to change the world. Jesus did it. Buddha did it. Muhammad did it. Joseph Smith did it. It is a doable doing.

There are no excuses.

Killings, Retaliations, and Heartbreak

In the shadow of a calling I found myself...

                                               

...Heartbroken 

Musical Moment ~ “Birdsong" Mother Nature (as heard from my office)

I am disappointed in us humans. Heartbroken at the loss of lives and fearful of what will happen next in a society struggling to understand each other, acknowledge the plethora of similarities, and find a way to accept and understand (maybe even embrace) our differences, and simply get along. I am proud of who and what I am, and the people I am connected to through blood or lineage. I am open to knowing all the peoples of this world, but it is hard to continually look for the positive teachings in life when there is so much hate, distrust, and violence circling like a starved, rabid jackal. It is even harder to know you will have to monitor your surroundings, actions, and tone even more so than you already do...to never feel the Freedom because you’re on high alert.  

I don’t want to be afraid to walk this earth in my skin, so I will not be. ~I~ was made in the image of the highest, most Supreme Soul. Call the Supreme Soul by whatever name you use for your spiritual journey on this earth – God, Jehovah, Allah, Great Spirit, Buddha, the Universe, etc. ~You~ were made in the image of the highest, most Supreme Soul. We are all beautiful.

We are ALL beautiful.

So let us please stop the killings. If you must kill, kill with words, with thoughts, with actions that make proactive, positive, life/soul-altering impacts to this world. Stop making judgments – mostly, erroneous – about other people based on the general consensus of what your social/peer group think. Take the time to investigate (and do so with an open mind and heart, you’ll learn even more, including more about yourself) and discover truths on your own. Be curious. Be curious so that we can finally be that seemingly elusive single race we all belong to but try to ignore: Human.

Earth is a pretty big planet. As of today, we can’t live anywhere else in the universe that we know of, so why not make this planet what it really is, a place where inclusivity must exist for there to be balance and love and life, and liberty, and the opportunity to pursue happiness.

The Power of Diversity

In the shadow of a calling I found myself...

                                               

Winter is hard and harsh so that I can deeply appreciate the other seasons and find myself through the snow.

Musical Moment ~ “One Mo' Time" Queen Latifah

As a lifelong lover of the written word, I have enjoyed books - both fiction and non-fiction - about peoples of different cultures, religions, and philosophies African, Chinese, Japanese, Indian, Native Cultures (American, Australian, South American), Jewish, and of course, many, many European cultures.. I have been taught so much. I have been entertained, I have fallen in love, I have felt heartbroken and I have been extremely curious. While I may not have a familiarity with certain cultural norms, what I have discovered is that at heart people are people. 

We all want to give and receive love. 

We all bleed. 

We all cry. 

Once born, we all die. 

I guess my curiosity is because of my Jamaican "Out of Many, One People" philosophy and knowing that I come from a diverse background and have always been surrounded by people who are not quite like me. Beautiful people who are not quite like me. Brave people who in the end...are more like me than I would have ever known had I not been open to meeting and embracing those who are different from myself and diving deep into their stories. But here's the greatest secret of all: In the end and in the deepest most sacred parts of our self - we are truly all of one.