Separation Can Be Unfair

I heard it after Katrina had hit New Orleans and the survivors sought refuge in the Superdome. It was when the woman pointed to the large screen television overhead and said to her three children, “There’s your daddy, he’s in Utah.” When I asked how he wound up there, she told me that the authorities had ordered the women and children on buses separate from the men. She then added that she was unaware of when they would see him again, but at least theyknew where he was.

We were in a Dogon village in Mali, where the reigning chief practiced Animism, his son practiced Islam, and other family members were Christian.  Yet despite their religious differences, they and all members of the village lived harmoniously together. Upon our return to the states however, we learned  that the Muslim rebels, outside of the village, were getting closer and closer, and that the people were fearful that they might lose their very lives.

During the physical enslavement of African people here in America, slaves were forced to watch their loved ones being taken away, with no knowledge of if and/or when they might see them again., Still today we experience this sense of detachment from one another, due to separation issues.  Our religious differences coerce us into believing that we’re going to heaven, and others are not, so we tend to distance ourselves from them. On a larger scale, racial and economic disparities compel us into thinking that if we hang around those who are privileged, we will acquire some of what they have, and not have to affiliate ourselves with those who have not.

Needless to say, we always have choices, and it’s up to us as to whether we make them in accordance with what will benefit all, or limit ourselves to doing that which is advantageous to only ourselves.

It’s Christmas time y’all, and by the Grace of God, each of our families has been granted an opportunity to come together and share our lives with one another. This is our chance to become one with all those who are participating in this holiday  extravaganza, on a global scale, and give our shared universe a LOVE energy, that surpasses anything that’s ever been experienced.

What I’m bringing to my family’s gathering is an attempt to be honest with myself and to share my true feelings with everyone else. I’m going to make every effort to practice open-mindedness, patience and tolerance which will allow me to accept whatever another might want to share without my judgement and condemnation., Then I’m going to do my best to make this occassion the most joyous interaction that we as a family have ever experienced.

My hope is that the folk in New Orleans, Mali, and all over the world will take on a similar mindset, and give us all an opportunity to not only experience what it takes to keep us as together as One, but also a chance to make this Oneness an integral part of our everyday lives.              

I’ll holla…

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