Invited Listening: High Tide Or Low Tide (Bob Marley & The Wailers)
[Beginning of Post]
A plea: To whomever or whatever you Believe in... Who/what you call to when you wonder if this may be the end of your journey on this plane, who/ what you reach for when it feels your heart has shattered and you're just trying to gather the pieces...
I don't particularly care about the specific theology or doctrine... To the being/ thing you believe has the power to care for you at the most dire times... Please ask, on behalf of all of us, that they protect the hearts and spirits of young people everywhere.
If everywhere is too big for you, pick one younger person you know.
I know this post may not be popular for algorithms or building engagement ... And I turned to the power and agency I have and am trusting and believing it will find those who are willing.
This cruelty that is being rained (reigned) down upon young people who have no choice but to stay and try their best to endure and withstand it...I went to bed dejected and broken. I woke up in tears.
Then I remembered I can seek systems of abundance... And you, dear reader, are part of my system of abundance. Because you have breath, and thus have agency and power...and you too have and are enduring all that is happening in the world. I don't need your money (though I wouldn't be opposed to some of that 🤑), I do want to lean on your time, a most precious of resources, and ask that, if nothing else, you take a full uninterrupted moment and beseech whomever/ whatever you believe in that the young people globally be protected.
The thing is, I Believe that it's the responsibility of older people to look out for the younger ones. And as I hear and witness story after story of young people being harmed, and recognize there are some too far from my physical reach for me to caregive, and I only have so many resources, I redouble my efforts with those I am close enough to reach and I ask my ancestors, the Divine, and any who my words can reach, to protect the others:
From the Indian Boarding schools in the US to the M & M company using 5 year olds in (now-called) Ghana to harvest cacao, to the US legislation reversing child labor laws, to caregivers I know using their young people as pawns to get back at partners (won't link to that one, not trying to air everyone's dirty laundry)...
You didn't think I was just referring to Gaza, Sudan, Congo, and all those ‘other’ places, did you? Yeah I'm talking about our backyard... There are so many young ones experiencing harm...and unprocessed harm is often what turns into trauma.
Now you, dear reader who is ready to help with your moment of time, may say...I don’t believe in any higher powers or any kind of anything. What about me? To you, I offer a lesson I learned from a dear teacher, mentor, friend, mother-figure for me... One of her strengths was that she did not believe in waiting for some big benevolent external being to come to the rescue, she lived her days with the intention that it was her who was responsible for impacting her life and the lives around her... to the best of her ability. I invite us, all of us, even those of us who do believe in some divinity, to also move with this kind of intention because we do impact each other.
I have heard that the Massai, an indigenous people in what is now called Kenya and Tanzania (yeah, two “countries” cause all of these lines are made up - and that conversation isn’t for this post)...
Well, among the Massai they have (or used to have) a greeting: “And how are the children?” (loose translation)
When the Massai encounter each other this is a greeting that might be used and the understanding is that if the children are well then the community is well ...
And so I ask you, in the tradition of the Massai... “and how are the children?”
(I’m asking about the little children within in too. They also need tending.)
Let’s start with the ones within arm’s distance. And maybe even ask them. If you haven’t asked before, you may need to ask a few times, maybe even a few times over a few days, to get a real response. If that’s what you want and this isn’t a checkbox exercise. A personal favorite game/ tool is Rose, Bud, Thorn (Note: I did NOT vet this site before linking, it was a pull from a quick Google search. As always, I encourage you to bring your own expansive questioning and gaze to this work) ...if you’re lucky you may even get to talk a little about botany.
This piece is dedicated to Ms. Jan, whose physical body transitioned from this plane almost ten years ago today (December 4), and who lives on in so many hearts, especially mine, because she made a point of living in alignment with her beliefs and values. And to her daughter, who was generous enough to share this special woman with me. And to all the young people waking up this morning to face another day - may the systems of abundance, care, joy, and love around you be evident. Asé.
Rest well, Jan.
I appreciate the teaching that accompanies your ask. "How are the children?" may now be my new greeting of choice. Thank you!
Thank you for inviting us into these reflections 🩷