I am mostly changing diapers and dancing with my 2 month year old son during the mornings. During this time my partner is practicing yoga to gain balance and peace of mind. Afterward we spend time together or she begins working from her desk at home and I go off to serve in several different schools as a teaching artist. Right now I am working for Brooklyn College in a program called "Project Peace" as well as for a non profit organization called BEATGLOBAL.com. This is how I am becoming transformed and assisting young people in their growth and transformation.
Recently I had a group discussion in the round with high school students in Bensonhurst Brooklyn prompting them to write a journal entry using an example of what Teenage girls in other schools in their age range have expressed about the elections before Nov 8th in this New York Times article. Students wrote about
1. One thing they heard that made them angry, and
2. One thing that made them elated, inspired, happy.
in regards to the election.
Recently I had a group discussion in the round with high school students in Bensonhurst Brooklyn prompting them to write a journal entry using an example of what Teenage girls in other schools in their age range have expressed about the elections before Nov 8th in this New York Times article. Students wrote about
1. One thing they heard that made them angry, and
2. One thing that made them elated, inspired, happy.
in regards to the election.
In a cypher-circle we passed a that I deemed the "object of truth" and whomever held that object had full reign to speak their truth without anyone criticizing or interrupting their thoughts and words. (Thank you Y? for that pro-tip, I normally used a talking stick but Y? proved that item could be anything from a tennis ball to what we used this time "A crumpled up piece of green construction paper") One of the students commented "Hey this is simply a crumpled up piece of paper from my journal that I ripped out from where someone mistakenly wrote in my journal but I acknowledge that it is the object of truth so here is what I wanted to say. . ." and proceeded to share knowing she had the floor and openly could express herself.
I heard everything from “I am glad Trump won so we can remove the illegal immigrants" to "I don’t care who won because I love Jesus and I am always protected” to "Not all immigrants are lazy, actually some people whose families come from other countries are more hard working than people who were born here" This discussion went around until it felt it was ready to transpire into the second prompt which was.
“If you were President what would you do?”
It's a privilege to have had practiced meditation for 6 hours from 9am to 4pm the day before mediating this conversation with the youth. I believe meditation really helped me to be objective, just listen, and be a student of the youth allowing them to vent their anger and create a safe space for them to express themselves unapologetically. I am thankful for the organization BEATGLOBAL.org for encouraging and helping me sharpen my skill as a faciliator. As well as the support I received from Project Peace who brought the New York Times article to my attention.
In my personal life. I am grateful to constantly be called toward creating a more efficient home for my growing family. I am grateful for all of the support I have had from my partner as I work toward my dreams and grow past new challenges each day. I am grateful to still have time to connect and play with my son daily and watch his growth.
I am fully engaged and occupied these days working in several public schools and teaching yoga, meditation as well as hip hop as a form of healing for the youth and being there for my son and partner. As well as practicing as much self-love as I can and educating myself so I can show up as powerfully as possible for everyone in my immediate environment.
But I want to say I hear you. I hear the cries of division and separation between us. I hear the paradox in the different ways we think and our world views. I am grateful to be connected to you and see your post. I get most of my information and news from facebook because I don’t own a TV (intentionally) So thank you for updating your page with information and insight that I can share with the youth who are the next generation of voters, and change makers coming up right now.
Right now I am blessed to be focussing on creating a world where no matter how different our beliefs are we all still win. We can relate to each other on vibrational levels higher than thought and realize our similarities and oneness. Today I will go into another public high school and ask similar questions and continue to learn all the while saying the Hip Hop mantra from the group the Luminaries "Peace worldwide Starts from inside"
Comments