What a time of opportunity we are living in as in this moment,
some are filled with anger, frustration and a sense of injustice, others
are filled with satisfaction, entitlement and a sense of justice, still
others of us are seeking peace, engaging in healing and empowering
ourselves and others to some end that will give us a sense of freedom.
My position is that Freedom has never left us. I’ve submitted that idea
to which others, who are so attached to their pain, thought that I was
being placating and insulting. Some see Trayvon as a sacrificial lamb.
I know that I do. Many people saw Jesus that way. And many still want
to say that Jesus died so that we might live. But I know that the
master teacher spoke from his Christ consciousness when he said “I have
come as an example”.
I’m not trying to deify Trayvon. He seemed to be a regular teenage boy, a little exceptional in some respects because he was a good student and had aspirations that were above and beyond the perceptions that a George Zimmerman thought about a teenager wearing a hoodie. Perhaps Trayvon’s aspirations even exceeded George Zimmerman’s. I know little about George Zimmerman’s character except that he wanted to be a hero. He still can be but it will not be because of what he did that night. And it will be because of what he did that night. Trayvon Martin’s death has opened our eyes about Justice in a way that some have not experienced before now. Some thought that Justice lied in the guy who we felt sorry for getting honor because his oppressor, persecutor or offender got punished for his mistake or intentional wrong-doing. We now are asked to consider that Justice does not lie in our court system but we are not sure where it lives. It lives in us.
Restorative Justice teaches us that there are victims on both sides of the crime. Unless and until we are willing to release blame, shame and pain, we will be prisoners in our own self-imposed jails. And we cannot blame the man for putting us there. We did it. I understand that it is easier to identify as a victim so that our pain that turns into anger can be justified in our minds. But there is a place in our hearts that will never be satisfied by our rage.
We won’t overcome being victims until we are willing to admit that this is how we see ourselves. We want control. And unless we are willing to surrender to the only Power that is, we will never have it.
It is time that we stopped looking for Justice and Power outside of ourselves. The very Presence inside of us is Justice. Our true Power comes in realizing that everything we need is already ours. The Creative Energy that brought us into being is the Power. The Kingdom of Heaven that the Christ referred to is filled with Love, Justice and Freedom. When we choose Heaven, we are no longer slaves to the old ideas that suppressed our greatness.
Many of us haven’t let ourselves experience emancipation, regardless of our race, because we don’t trust that it’s attainable. I know that African-American slavery was purported to be over centuries ago, but are we ready to stand fully in our wholeness? I don’t even know how to feel completely whole yet with my new-found freedom to marry. I’m still being invited into boycotts and buycotts that keep me in a constant cycle of fear, flight and fight. Many of us don’t know freedom because we haven’t recovered from the experiences in the past. I’ve been called by many derogatory names, but it has not taken away from my greatness, my Beauty or my Truth. As a Black, gay, New Thought female, I have been disenfranchised because of my race, my sexual preference, my religion and my gender. I have been discounted except for those moments when corporations chose to count me for getting double or triple points for my categories in order to meet a government requirement for a grant or another compensation or consideration of some kind.
We, unfortunately, are seen by our packages. Let’s give George Zimmerman a cheer for that realization. We have yet to learn what it means to be judged by the content of our character. It is such a time as this that we get to build our character. We get to build our individual character, our cultural character, our national character and our human character.
My current experience is that many of us have no tolerance for seeing our spiritual Truth in the midst of our anger. We have attached “victim” to our self-image. Oh, we won’t admit it. We won’t even admit to being afraid. The thing that I am now most afraid of is us getting stuck here. But I have to know, beyond hope and fear, by my faith, that the Heaven within will emerge and triumphantly crush all of the “not worthy” thoughts, all of the “not valued” thoughts, all of the “not safe” thoughts. Because I know that God is Safety, I know that it is already happening now.
For all of the parents who have lost a child or children to gun violence, I accept peace for the pain that has been triggered by this fear-filled act of violence and the subsequent warped sense of justice in our court system. More than that, I accept that they may be willing to be willing to be willing to release the pain without thinking that it means disloyalty to their child or to the memory of their children.
For all of the Black young men who have looked at me or any of us as a potential George Zimmerman as they walked down the street, I know safety for you. For all those who have not been honored because of your race, I know Unconditional Love for all of us. For all of those who have not been honored or accepted because of your gender, I know self-love, Freedom and Compassion for all of us. For all of those who have not respected or accepted because of your sexual preference, I know Compassion and Freedom for us. For those of us who have not been accepted or even acknowledged because of your spiritual choice, I know Perfect Peace and Love for each one of us.
Regardless of the violent promotions for war that supports the propagation of fear and corporate greed, I know that guns do not need to be carried unless you fancy yourself a savior. Most of us have a twisted sense of savior because we place our power outside of ourselves. It is only when we acknowledge the Power within us that we will be harbingers of righteousness. We will know that righteousness has little to do with being right, but everything to do with being Love.
When we realize that Power lies inherent in all of life, when we realize that EVERYONE is seeking their good, we will know true Freedom. We will then relinquish the need to fight. We will know that we are complete, exactly as we are. And we will then know oneness. We will know oneness as more than a concept or spiritual term. We will know oneness as the very Truth of all of Life. Then, and only then, will Love prevail in an eternal way. While we are learning, let’s see just how Trayvon Martin, our justice system, and George Zimmerman can help us find our way. We have the Divine Mind within us and the heart of Unconditional Love inside of us. Surely, it is a small leap of faith to get us there!
I’m not trying to deify Trayvon. He seemed to be a regular teenage boy, a little exceptional in some respects because he was a good student and had aspirations that were above and beyond the perceptions that a George Zimmerman thought about a teenager wearing a hoodie. Perhaps Trayvon’s aspirations even exceeded George Zimmerman’s. I know little about George Zimmerman’s character except that he wanted to be a hero. He still can be but it will not be because of what he did that night. And it will be because of what he did that night. Trayvon Martin’s death has opened our eyes about Justice in a way that some have not experienced before now. Some thought that Justice lied in the guy who we felt sorry for getting honor because his oppressor, persecutor or offender got punished for his mistake or intentional wrong-doing. We now are asked to consider that Justice does not lie in our court system but we are not sure where it lives. It lives in us.
Restorative Justice teaches us that there are victims on both sides of the crime. Unless and until we are willing to release blame, shame and pain, we will be prisoners in our own self-imposed jails. And we cannot blame the man for putting us there. We did it. I understand that it is easier to identify as a victim so that our pain that turns into anger can be justified in our minds. But there is a place in our hearts that will never be satisfied by our rage.
We won’t overcome being victims until we are willing to admit that this is how we see ourselves. We want control. And unless we are willing to surrender to the only Power that is, we will never have it.
It is time that we stopped looking for Justice and Power outside of ourselves. The very Presence inside of us is Justice. Our true Power comes in realizing that everything we need is already ours. The Creative Energy that brought us into being is the Power. The Kingdom of Heaven that the Christ referred to is filled with Love, Justice and Freedom. When we choose Heaven, we are no longer slaves to the old ideas that suppressed our greatness.
Many of us haven’t let ourselves experience emancipation, regardless of our race, because we don’t trust that it’s attainable. I know that African-American slavery was purported to be over centuries ago, but are we ready to stand fully in our wholeness? I don’t even know how to feel completely whole yet with my new-found freedom to marry. I’m still being invited into boycotts and buycotts that keep me in a constant cycle of fear, flight and fight. Many of us don’t know freedom because we haven’t recovered from the experiences in the past. I’ve been called by many derogatory names, but it has not taken away from my greatness, my Beauty or my Truth. As a Black, gay, New Thought female, I have been disenfranchised because of my race, my sexual preference, my religion and my gender. I have been discounted except for those moments when corporations chose to count me for getting double or triple points for my categories in order to meet a government requirement for a grant or another compensation or consideration of some kind.
We, unfortunately, are seen by our packages. Let’s give George Zimmerman a cheer for that realization. We have yet to learn what it means to be judged by the content of our character. It is such a time as this that we get to build our character. We get to build our individual character, our cultural character, our national character and our human character.
My current experience is that many of us have no tolerance for seeing our spiritual Truth in the midst of our anger. We have attached “victim” to our self-image. Oh, we won’t admit it. We won’t even admit to being afraid. The thing that I am now most afraid of is us getting stuck here. But I have to know, beyond hope and fear, by my faith, that the Heaven within will emerge and triumphantly crush all of the “not worthy” thoughts, all of the “not valued” thoughts, all of the “not safe” thoughts. Because I know that God is Safety, I know that it is already happening now.
For all of the parents who have lost a child or children to gun violence, I accept peace for the pain that has been triggered by this fear-filled act of violence and the subsequent warped sense of justice in our court system. More than that, I accept that they may be willing to be willing to be willing to release the pain without thinking that it means disloyalty to their child or to the memory of their children.
For all of the Black young men who have looked at me or any of us as a potential George Zimmerman as they walked down the street, I know safety for you. For all those who have not been honored because of your race, I know Unconditional Love for all of us. For all of those who have not been honored or accepted because of your gender, I know self-love, Freedom and Compassion for all of us. For all of those who have not respected or accepted because of your sexual preference, I know Compassion and Freedom for us. For those of us who have not been accepted or even acknowledged because of your spiritual choice, I know Perfect Peace and Love for each one of us.
Regardless of the violent promotions for war that supports the propagation of fear and corporate greed, I know that guns do not need to be carried unless you fancy yourself a savior. Most of us have a twisted sense of savior because we place our power outside of ourselves. It is only when we acknowledge the Power within us that we will be harbingers of righteousness. We will know that righteousness has little to do with being right, but everything to do with being Love.
When we realize that Power lies inherent in all of life, when we realize that EVERYONE is seeking their good, we will know true Freedom. We will then relinquish the need to fight. We will know that we are complete, exactly as we are. And we will then know oneness. We will know oneness as more than a concept or spiritual term. We will know oneness as the very Truth of all of Life. Then, and only then, will Love prevail in an eternal way. While we are learning, let’s see just how Trayvon Martin, our justice system, and George Zimmerman can help us find our way. We have the Divine Mind within us and the heart of Unconditional Love inside of us. Surely, it is a small leap of faith to get us there!
