On the heels of the re-election of the first African American president in the United States, many people of color are feeling empowered and swept up by what they believe are the winds of change. What they fail to realize in all of their excitement, is that the winds of change are blowing in the wrong direction.
Yesterday, I found this on the hood of my car:
.jpg)
This symbol, the "swastika," has positive origins and meanings particularly in Indian religions like Buddhism, Hinduism, and Jainism and in many cultures is seen as a symbol of good fortune and a meaning of "higher self." In Nazi Germany, the symbol was adopted by the Aryan race and has stigmatized the symbol with negative connotations.
It is quite possible that misguided youth did this to my car as blocks and blocks of cars and houses were marked with this paint...though I was the only one who received this symbol. I highly doubt it was a band of Buddhist or Hindu youth celebrating my goodness and wishing me good fortune. So I am apt to believe they are aware of the negative connotations the swastika has been given by the Aryan race. If misguided youth did this, was there malicious intent? I don't know. What I do know is that they learned of this ignorance from somewhere.
I started an online magazine last month called "Conscious Comments"* for the very purpose of awakening the collective consciousness in order to create enough higher energy to combat lower energies such as this. In other words, it is my intention to draw out the good to overcome the evil. The more of us who are aware of the level of negativity and hate swelling in these "winds of change," the more of us there will be to change their direction. This incident tells me I'm on the right path.
My family told me I should take the Lion of Judah symbol off of my rear view mirror so that I would no longer be a "target." They tell me to get a stun gun or pepper spray. What they don't realize is that Lion of Judah necklace is my shield, and love is my weapon. I can't find it in me to fear ignorance. Too many before me have shown me that there is no reason to do so.
My grandmother marched with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., as did countless others of our ancestors, black and white. A great deal of change resulted. Do not, however, mistake a change in law (or president) for a change in heart. Hatred may have been silenced a bit, but was not eradicated. It was passed down like a family heirloom. I say this to say that the work Dr. King, my grandmother, and your grandmother began is not finished. The work of Gandhi, Mother Theresa, Nelson Mandela, and many others is not done.
Marching may not be the answer for this type of incident, but education and a saturation of love is certainly in order. Do not get swept up in the wind until you are aware of which direction it is blowing. Meanwhile, I will take the original meaning of the swastika and live from my higher self. Love, light, and consciousness.
*Conscious Comments
Yesterday, I found this on the hood of my car:
.jpg)
This symbol, the "swastika," has positive origins and meanings particularly in Indian religions like Buddhism, Hinduism, and Jainism and in many cultures is seen as a symbol of good fortune and a meaning of "higher self." In Nazi Germany, the symbol was adopted by the Aryan race and has stigmatized the symbol with negative connotations.
It is quite possible that misguided youth did this to my car as blocks and blocks of cars and houses were marked with this paint...though I was the only one who received this symbol. I highly doubt it was a band of Buddhist or Hindu youth celebrating my goodness and wishing me good fortune. So I am apt to believe they are aware of the negative connotations the swastika has been given by the Aryan race. If misguided youth did this, was there malicious intent? I don't know. What I do know is that they learned of this ignorance from somewhere.
I started an online magazine last month called "Conscious Comments"* for the very purpose of awakening the collective consciousness in order to create enough higher energy to combat lower energies such as this. In other words, it is my intention to draw out the good to overcome the evil. The more of us who are aware of the level of negativity and hate swelling in these "winds of change," the more of us there will be to change their direction. This incident tells me I'm on the right path.
My family told me I should take the Lion of Judah symbol off of my rear view mirror so that I would no longer be a "target." They tell me to get a stun gun or pepper spray. What they don't realize is that Lion of Judah necklace is my shield, and love is my weapon. I can't find it in me to fear ignorance. Too many before me have shown me that there is no reason to do so.
My grandmother marched with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., as did countless others of our ancestors, black and white. A great deal of change resulted. Do not, however, mistake a change in law (or president) for a change in heart. Hatred may have been silenced a bit, but was not eradicated. It was passed down like a family heirloom. I say this to say that the work Dr. King, my grandmother, and your grandmother began is not finished. The work of Gandhi, Mother Theresa, Nelson Mandela, and many others is not done.
Marching may not be the answer for this type of incident, but education and a saturation of love is certainly in order. Do not get swept up in the wind until you are aware of which direction it is blowing. Meanwhile, I will take the original meaning of the swastika and live from my higher self. Love, light, and consciousness.
*Conscious Comments
No comments:
Post a Comment