There is peace. Yet, I cannot even calm my heart without reminding myself of it. I cannot face another murder without knowing it. I hear the reasons, see the protest, feel the rage. I live among the popping of guns, black children afraid of imminent death, rage relentless, endless hearts broken, beauty ignored, homes besieged, liberation laughed at, songs used for profit, bodies pulverized, stories of dehumanization overflowing like lava onto every inch of the path we walk.
With so much devastation everywhere, I’d like to nudge in between the lines a moment of rejuvenation, the offering of the bell chant this morning. And I too ring the bell. May the bell be heard where there is constant sorrow and death. May it bless the black lives that didn’t matter to some. May it bless up the black child that has been born today. May the bell be heard in celebration of it’s new arrival. May the bell be heard in all the places in the world where the death toll mounts.
Thank you for the beautiful reminder of the power of compassion.
<3
..and yet there is hope of a better day. Far off? Yes…because the dawning of this new day is so obscured by so much darkness of mind and heart. Too many white peole dislike people of color without concrete reason. Unable to escape the toxicity of mind and heart, the racist and haters seem to just wait for better days to show up all by themselves. The better days need to be pulled along with loving kindness. I’m sadened that after thousands of years too many white people find it so difficult to accept people of color. I hope that Whites will begin to recognize how poisoness racism is to our human family. To live in America and be unconcerned of our dysfunction only contributes to it’s longevity. thank you for the space to express my thoughts. Love and peace…Fred Goodnight
Why must we wait for white people? What do you expect of them or anyone outside of your own ability to be liberated? Great expectations lead to great disappointments. I refuse to go to my grave waiting for someone else to free me. It’s now my Fred. This is the best day. What are you being wakened up to about us as black people right now?
How do we find a space big enough to hold all the voices of anger, hatred, and rage that come from the pain of those around us and from the fear inside ourselves? How do we embrace all the terror and self-doubt, the storm clouds of despair, that obscure the clarity within us and keep us huddled in the cold?
I have not lived with the specter of racism and bigotry haunting me every day. I am white and male, and in this culture, this society, that means I have an automatic pass that others do not. Yet I have spent my life trying to emerge from the tangled, crippling feelings of worthlessness and self-hatred that became part of me as I grew up in a broken family, suffered bullying and psychological abuse throughout my years in school, and blotted out my young adulthood with drugs.
I wish that we all find a way to peace within ourselves and compassion for the pain and hatred of others. There is no other way. Thank you, Earthlyn, for your bravery and fierce compassion and love.
Thank you Zenju for this Beautiful Medicine…
THank you Zenju for this beautiful offering. I am deeply touched as tears fall.
peace and blessings,
Simbwala