Thursday, September 17, 2015

Have we not evolved past this?

Dear fellow humans,

I, like you, saw the picture of the missing little girl Hailey Dunbar-Blanchette on Facebook and immediately shared the amber alert.  And like you, I prayed and hoped that she would be found safe and sound and returned to her mother’s arms.

I quickly became incensed from reading people’s comments judging the mother for not coming forward, assuming the mother had something to do with this crime, and once they found the perpetrator, assuming the mother was involved with him to commit the crimes. I read many insensitive and judgmental comments written about her- the public created a monster out of a woman they do not know and have not even seen.  Once she broke her silence, I read the comments that praised her and wished her well, as the public turned her into their hero. 

I am disappointed in us.  I am disappointed that we cannot learn to take control of our minds, mouths, and in these days, our fingers that type-out our thoughts.  I am heartbroken that we are so quick to classify each other into binary labels- and for what? To better understand one another? To better understand the world? No, these practices separate you from humanity! They divide us; they alienate us from each other.  They break our own connections with our own hearts.  They damage our own relationships with ourselves and in turn our relationships with each other. 

Did it make you smart to think that the mom was implicated? Did it make you feel good? It could not have possibly brought you any peace or any sense of self-worth.

Imagine if you had just read the news and hoped for all the individuals involved to find peace, love, and solace.  That would have been the ticket.  That would have actually helped the little girl, the mother, you, and all of humanity. 

Next time, tell your mind to take a break and ask your heart to take a stand.  Take a stand for what is right.  Stop judging every individual all the time and take a moment of peace and love for the sake of yourself, and believe me, you will be doing us all a favor.


Namaste.

Thursday, July 09, 2015

All the right reasons

My mother married for love.
No.
strike that.
My mother married for laughter.
Yes,
Laughter.

She married for laughter. And life was funny.  Very funny.
It was whimsical, light, and there was always something to laugh about. 
Even through the toughest times, picture: air raids, loss of land, and a rising revolution at your doorstep. The scariest of moments: forced to leave your home, entering a foreign city with $250 to your name. Yet, there was always laughter, which meant there was always joy.  To a young girl, who did not understand the realities of the adult world- there was only joy, love, and harmony.

We crossed the desert border at night, us three, in a Volkswagen van.
I was comforted by the love always glowing in his eyes. And of course, the laughter.

I kept a lock of your hair, Dad.
A piece of you has defied death.

Now,

cue the laughter.