I am awake, I am alive, and this morning I am THRILLED to have leveled up thanks to my recent birthday. Much to do on this level, which brings me to today’s thoughts …
I have long said that complacency kills, for I have seen the attitude kill dreams and relationships and collective hope time and time again, but this morning I am truly embracing the danger of yet another threat …
Supremacy
Whether it is a man who feels he knows more than a woman he just met, one culture insisting through word or deed that their way is superior (or worse, the ONLY way), or one religion feeling superior to another, the result is the same … burnt bridges.
As Anishinaabe, the thought confuses me, for my teachings do not allow space for hierarchy. No one is better than another. We all carry wisdom, and the strength is in the collective not the individual. We sit in a circle, not above or below another.
But daily, the mansplaining continues. Daily, I hear of resource extraction as the “only way” to our collective futures (cough cough). Daily, I see religions battle and the ways of my people tolerated by some, welcomed by others as a “novelty” (as a checkmark on their reconciliation checklist), or worse, something they want to try to take as their own.
FULL and abrupt stop!!
Two row wampum (not an Anishinaabe teaching but one I fully embrace and love) … I have no desire to swim in your lane. I drown there. You have no desire to swim in mine (nor should you). But we can travel together, the day we ditch superiority and replace it with respect.
When the student is ready, the teacher will appear. Now if only we could wait for the willing students before we begin the teaching (refer back to bulldozer post).
After all, you do not get to decide what I need.
I love you!
HUGSSSSSSSS
Sandi
***This is an excerpt from Sandi’s most recent book, “I am Awake …”. available for purchase on her website or on Amazon.ca.***
I am awake, I am alive, and this morning I am smiling as I enjoy the peace that comes from walking my talk. Authenticity – a joy from within, a choice, and something I highly recommend for I have found that there are few things more satisfying than speaking and living your truth. Case […]
I am awake, I am alive, and this morning two words are echoing in my head – “Teach them”. Mom so often repeated, “Teach them how to treat you”. She reminded me that if I wanted others to be kind to me, I had to be kind to me. If I wanted respect from […]
I am awake, I am alive, and this morning I am once again pondering the words we use. This time I am specifically thinking of the phrases we use to describe others, especially those we admire, and how misleading or even damaging they can be to the receiver. Case in point – you tell […]