Well, this question is one I ask myself often. Although I have a feeling at times of clear connection to those who frequent my Facebook status updates with awe and praise, I realize, when push comes to shove, that I am indeed no more than a zoo attraction. Those peering into my cage, stating their observations of beauty, strength and whatever adjectives they find suitable for the tiny glimpse they witness. Emotional projections of how they would feel in my skin and how I must feel. Because I am easily agitated, passionate, difficult to understand in mere human language, I remain untouched, gawked at and slightly frightened by the passive curiosity those on the outside display. Some attempt to imitate my behaviours, or join my coping ventures, only to find, they still view me as separate. I too view them as such, but mainly due to the walls of this cage we are entrapped in. Although I am rare and perhaps endangered, actions like these seem to not stir action but surprisingly a more complacent acceptance. 'What is being accepted?' you may ask. My answer is this: The clear glimpse you imagine you have into my life, which has many forms throughout the day, the week and the lifespan, is only that: a glimpse. To watch us in a bubble and name us brave, happy or even alive is like basing an entire religion off of one moment... Our wildness has been taken, by those who seek control, money or enlightenment thru walls, boxes and rules. And yet we are seen as some anomaly, or genetic fluke. My life is a direct product of the level of acceptance embraced for comfort's sake. And if you view us as even slightly uncomfortable to watch, there lies the core of the issue. Here we drape, over tree branches, listless, helpless yet still determined to meet your awe-stricken eye gaze with a tear in ours saying, "Why are you just standing there? Let us out!" A.K.A. Solstice Hello and Happy Wednesday! Welcome to all the new Guru V People! Some lessons from my Gurus (my kids) that I have learned from them and their tremendous energy: 1. Go Big! Be Loud! Feel Everything and then... 2. Forgive easily. Move on. Stay in the moment. Don't dwell on the last moment or... 3. You may miss all the LOVE, BEAUTY and Dare to be Great moments in front of you. 4. Never accept someone else's idea of what is best for you and never impose your idea of what you think is best for someone else...even if you think you have more capacity to... 5. Life is a gift, given to the person living it. Everyone is your teacher during this gift...Pay attention and LOVE. An awesome mom and a super amazing friend wrote this regarding her son:
I am struggling with showing grace and forgiveness. Brady has been hurt by so many, many who attended Oly's rally today. I feel angry. Love? Acceptance? I'll be interested to hear how my son was treated today, by some of those very kids. My guess is that "diversity" and "acceptance" doesn't transfer to the kid that "high-fives" everyone so annoyingly everyday, or rudely interrupts conversations everyday because he just wants to be your friend and doesn't understand how. Brady has Autism, it is labeled a disability for a reason. His brain does not process things in the same way. This causes him to have an extremely difficult time with communicating and relationships. What does process things the same way is his heart. "Turning your back" on Brady and others like him is not showing "love" and "acceptance." Mocking his naiveness for your personal entertainment does not go unfelt. Don't be fooled by Brady's beautiful smile. He puts that on everyday because he says, "people don't like negative people, you told me that, mom, I pretend to be happy so that people will like me." Brady wishes he was dead. That smiling boy you turn your back on everyday, wishes he was dead. "No one is mean in heaven, mom." Please, Oly students, remember how much power you each have in your words and actions. How many Brady's do you turn your backs on everyday? Live up to what you presented yourselves to be today. And if you find this to be uncomfortable to read and embarrassing to your school, you just experienced a very small dose of what my son and many other kids experience everyday. My proposal and response: Hey Olympia High School, Olympia School District, students and faculty and surrounding areas...OUR KIDS ARE AMAZING and we have a 'DARE TO BE GREAT MOMENT.' My sweet friend Lisa...(awesome mom of Brady mentioned above in her post from Facebook - the rally she speaks about is a counter rally against the Westboro Church who made their way to Olympia because WA State is about to say YES to gay marriage). Lisa, I felt the way Brady felt last week. I actually said it out loud. I thought for a second in my despair that I would be better off dead because no one cares anyway...this is a very very scary place to be as I don't consider myself to be negative or depressed, but this is how the lack of care for our family has effected me deep within my soul and psyche. It hurts to be excluded and ignored...IT IS A FORM OF PASSIVE VIOLENCE that causes violence within societies, governments, and families. I sometimes feel very frustrated with my son, justin, who cannot help that he is autistic and I feel abandoned by society, public schools especially. My daughter, who also has autism, but is more verbal like Brady, is often a victim of passive violence as she is ignored or teased...even by teachers. Next year both she and hopefully my son, whom we have had a tough time getting any open acceptance in public school setting for, will be joining you from Massachusetts and I would like for us to engage in some actions that will create inclusion, love and peace rather than pain. Please read this and join us. PASSIVE VIOLENCE IS PAINFUL AND UGLY, TRUST ME. WE HAVE ENDURED FAR TOO MUCH OF IT AND IT IS DESTROYING FAMILIES EVERYWHERE, FROM THE INSIDE OUT! I would like to start a Guru V People Victory over Violence project. Will you help? http://wpb.stanford.edu/oldsites/vovexhibit.html As a person who has spent her entire life focused on social change, I sit here on the birthday of one of my most revered social justice activists and think, "How far have we come?" All platforms have basically been the same for social changemakers for centuries: Love, love, and more love. Listen to the sacred music and the poetry from every era and every religion. The teaching of love and acceptance is not a new concept, so why have we still not grasped this equation? Why are war, separation and fear prevalent? The questions I pose daily are ones that I already know the answers to, yet my life continues to reflect both sides of the coin. I do know that the more aware I become, the more love I am able to add to my life and in turn to the energy I send out to the universe. The more love I focus on rather than the internal pains, hardships of life, and the monsterous dischord in the human race, the more I feel there is hope. Love is a magical tool, as is forgiveness. The joy, pain, intensity, fulfillment, and surprise of the moment is a gift and how we live each of those moments affects the rest of them. I look at Dr. King and the peace marches he braved. His life was less than ideal by anyone's standards. NOT BEING ALLOWED TO DRINK FROM THE SAME FOUNTAINS BECAUSE OF THE COLOR OF HIS SKIN? Can any of us really imagine that? As an educated and compassionate person, he knew deep within him that this was not a representation of love. His years of observation, education and teachings on love, culminated into one passion for justice and social change. This mission was not new, nor were the words he shared. His passion led to action and the momentum picked up because people know what love is. We know what love looks like, what kindness creates and when they are or are not present. This truth dwells within us all, regardless of who or what we give credit to for creating it. LOVE...IS BEAUTIFUL AND REAL. We all can agree on this. Being busy, overwhelmed, mistreated or bound by laws are circumstances, outside forces, reactions and excuses to ignore the inside force of love. LOVE is not a new message. I believe we are all made up of love that radiates through the universe. We are social changemakers, whether we consciously enter that roll like Dr. King did, or whether we passively float through life ignoring or even discounting the power of love as a change agent. I am grateful for the many gurus and visionaries who have focused on love and social change. They inspire me to love even when faced with discrimination, manipulation, isolation and fear. The four items I previously mentioned are agents of separation and separation is the oppossite of love. Connection. When I focus on connection, love, forgiveness and the exact moment I am living, I tend to do things differently than when I glide on autopilot. I am usually less pleased with the outcome of my moments when I coast thru. My life with the gurus is far from ideal, but others in this world have far more hardship than I can even imagine. I choose to love my life and that creates an entirely different experience than when I sink into self pity, loneliness, chaos or fear. When I focus on the latter I feel defeated and out of control. Yes. Those moments come and go, but the love sustains me and inspires others. What an awesome concept!! This universal law is better than anything I could have thought up on my own. There are forces, spirits, wavelengths and frequencies for every experience and our reactions to them; As many great leaders have stated, the greatest and most powerful of these is love. In our Western culture and around the world, Love has many frequencies, all of them productive, charged and based in connection, like the cells of our body, the planets in our solar system the ecosystems on our planet...ALL THRIVE ON LOVE. We are connected. What an exciting concept. Love...The ultimate power trip that transports life to a paradoxal version of itself. Thank you Dr. King for offering your leadership to a change you knew had to take place. I am grateful and deeply saddened that your life was cut short, as many lives have been for this cause. LOVE...it is within us all. Innaction is not love. Action is easy. Try it and see. Spread this message to every molecule of the universe. Take action. Worst case scenario, you change the world. Best case scenario, you still change the world. Change it to love. LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE. Happy 'act on love' day in honor of Dr. King and those who have risked thier lives for love. Imagine and awake to the reality that no one's dream has to be at the expense of another's. When we truly listen to LOVE and act on it, there is room for everyone to live in harmony...that is true FREEDOM. LOVE, jen |
Zen JenA mom with passion, action and an inclusion revolution on her mind shares moments, mantras & wisdom gained from her autism adventures. A single mama of two children on the spectrum, whom she considers Archives
September 2015
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Please know that I am a poet and a scientist...so how I deal with discomfort is I ask questions, I manipulate words and rhythms and I dance around issues that I feel strongly about. When I use the word dance, please know that I am no ballerina...I prefer sharp, awkward maneuvers that express my passion. So when I dance around issues, there is no guessing how I feel about them...take nothing personal but please
take action. zen jen |