Day 3 post in honouring Martin Luther King and I have a dream.
I am very hesitant to share this today/night because it's uncomfortable topic and I do not want to feed drama or be misunderstood in my intentions. But on Friday I shared and made a commitment to myself “I chose to play safe and conveniently, but I am Now choosing to live more courageously from this moment” so here I go… I hope this is received as a Sharing and triggers a Curiosity for anyone that reads it to explore some of the resources and to step back and really think about what is going on in our little community and country that has many similarities to the USA.
The rally in our community, from what I understand, was about freedoms and the right to be heard in our concerns and questions. Way before covid times, there was a building up of frustrations among many people to how our ministries and governments managed things. Many people were not feeling heard or even given the chance to be heard in their concerns and this has now escalated during these covid times. (To note and I say this for my own "protection and insecurities": I did not attend the rally this past weekend or am part of that organization, I only share this cause I am Curious and I do share many concerns and questions that these people are rallying about and I do want to hear what they have to say).
This last rally and the statement from one of our leaders is an example of how governments and ministries have often dismissed the voices that do not serve their politics, and choose to promote the separation among the people.
The newspaper article and description under the photo state that the rally was to protest their “loss of freedoms”. It does mention “some with placards carrying messages in opposition to masks and mandatory vaccines and slogans defending freedoms and liberty” further down in the article. In this leader’s fb post he refers to it as an "anti-mask" protest… this feeds the drama, the separation, the lack of listening or curiosity.
I AM NOT meaning to complain or judge this post and its wording. I want to use it as an example though to promote our Curiosity…. Why are people having to protest in the first place? What do they want to be heard in? Why do others and leaders feel threatened by them? Would others and leaders be open to hear what they had to say? What do others and leaders think they would say that would make them feel uncomfortable and why? What stops others and leaders from connecting with them? (These questions are for both sides)
For me, I want to be part of something that promotes communication, connection, empowerment, growth and healing among all people in our community. One of my calls to action on Friday is to create a safe platform for this to begin. I will not be doing this alone as it takes many people to inspire and empower awareness and change/growth/evolution.
The resources and quotes I have attached here speak to how our Systems (ways of governing people) need to evolve.
Marianne Williamson is a huge inspiration to me. Her book, Politics of Love (written in 2019), which I just started to listen to yesterday while I was skiing , speaks to the dismissing of people’s voices, questions and concerns, and a reason why I felt called to write this post today. I’m not very far into the book yet but the first couple chapters spoke powerfully and resonated with me to my core. (She is way better at putting things into words than I am!!!) Book Link: https://www.amazon.ca/Politics-Love.../dp/0062873938
This morning I received a podcast in my inbox. I only had time to listen to the first bit. It speaks truth to me and what is going on in our world right now. Valarie Kaur is a civil rights attorney, filmmaker and author. According to Valarie, "There is no such thing as monsters out there, only people who do monstrous things out of their own woundedness." In this podcast, we talk about what it means to listen deeply and "tend the wound" of people who appear to be our opponents, and how this listening and tending shifts the dynamic between us and others in powerful ways. Podcast Link:-- 3:30 min mark… https://resources.soundstrue.com/podcast/valarie-kaur-activating-revolutionary-love/?utm_campaign=N210117-Kaur%20%28Yf9F8C%29&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Customer%20Service&_ke=eyJrbF9jb21wYW55X2lkIjogIkpNRGdhcSIsICJrbF9lbWFpbCI6ICJsaXNhX3BlcnJ5NzlAeWFob28uY29tIn0%3D
Finally, after my post yesterday and sharing a link to a podcast from Russell Brand, go figure last night I get directed to another Russell brand short video from a totally different random friend. It’s so funny how things come about… anyways… I share it here because he also addresses this need for a new system and that the system (the USA system, but I feel that we are not much different) is broken and has been for a long time. I appreciate Russell’s thoughts on things. Video Link: https://www.facebook.com/RussellBrand/posts/10157966342518177
I am hopeful about the change that is brewing. If we can choose to take our own personal responsibility to foster connection, empowerment, communication, growth and healing among ourselves, great things will come from all this. DREAM BIG… we can evolve our governing systems and ourselves to a new level of consciousness, well-being and service to others.
From Politics of Love: “Navigating this crisis will take not only the political renewal of our institutions but also some personal renewal of all of us." "In order to grow from this collectively, we’re going to have to grow from it individually. In the words of Martin Luther King Jr., we need “qualitative change in our souls as well as a quantitative change in our lives.””
We need a new politics. Politics based on love and empowerment not fear and control/victimization.
Love to you all!! xoxoxo
Another Note: “Sounds True, Valarie is launching an important new series. It’s called The People’s Inauguration: 10 Days to Activate Revolutionary Love. It’s a free series that begins on January 22nd and runs through January 31st, and it invites we the people to inaugurate ourselves as change makers in the world who are anchored in love. Each day of the 10-day free series, Valarie offers teachings and a practice, and engages in dialogue with some of the leading cultural visionaries and faith leaders of our time.” https://product.soundstrue.com/peoples-inauguration/register/?_ke=eyJrbF9jb21wYW55X2lkIjogIkpNRGdhcSIsICJrbF9lbWFpbCI6ICJsaXNhX3BlcnJ5NzlAeWFob28uY29tIn0%3D&utm_campaign=C210116-PI-Squeeze5%20%28V3VyE4%29&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Customer%20Service
So many Empowering Movements happening!! Opportunities for people to choose to come together DREAM BIG!!
