By Edith Billups
The past news week has been very interesting for me, particularly with so many comments being posted after Queen Elizabeth’s death about the negative impact of colonialism. Some did not cut the Queen any slack.
Additionally, so much criticism was voiced against actress Viola Davis after the premiere of “The Woman King.” Added to that were the comments that were posted after CNN’s Don Lemon interviewed a British royal who said that people of color should get reparations from the slave trade, but that these reparations should come from African kings whose countries were involved in the slave trade.
As a person of color who is working fervently to raise my consciousness and live from a place of truth, love, and forgiveness, it is an opportunity to put my efforts into practice. It also is an opportunity to use spiritual teachings from enlightened masters, my own education and travels, and my own common sense to get through each day without losing my footing and sanity. This is particularly important for me so that I can be a role model for my daughter and grandchildren.
When bitter and negative comments are posted, I tell them to do their research first so that they can form a legitimate and truthful opinion. What is posted may or may not be the truth. An example is when that British royal said that 2,000 British soldiers lost their lives trying to free slaves from ships that sailed under different flags.
She said those families’ soldiers should receive reparations, Read the fact check on that to learn more about that event. Discussions with my grandson regarding these posts led to other topics.
For instance, he sent me a Tik Tok rant lambasting volunteer tourism and young, wealthy kids who pay to go on trips “to gain access to poor people so that they can have life-affirming experiences.”
A woman said she paid 5,000 to go on a trip to build a library for orphans, but that none of the money went to the orphans and that because of her group’s inexperience, the poorly built library was immediately torn down, Later, a complaint was voiced that people like her only do it to look good on social media; have no experience; and then bond with people, but leave quickly never to return.
I told my grandson that I questioned whether volunteers would build a structure without anyone having experience. I was able to give an example of my not having any experience in installing a wood floor, but I was able to do so when led by experienced members of my Sai family when we went to rebuild a school in New Jersey.
It had been heavily damaged by Hurricane Sandy. I also told my grandson about my spiritual sister and her husband who have donated so much time and money to help build rooms and feed orphans at a place in the Dominican Republic. They work in partnership with an organization that provides experienced, hands-on labor. They spend half a year in the DR and visit the orphanage often. They also are helping to build a school and are very much hands-on and personally involved, I pointed out to my grandson, also, that people who mean well sometimes don’t see their efforts being that well received or appreciated. When a tsunami hit India, Amma sent hundreds of volunteers to help build thousands of new houses.
Many local men sat by and did not pitch in to help build the houses. When some devotees complained to Amma, she said that was the nature of those men. However, she said it was the responsibility of her devotees to serve selflessly.
Another example I told my grandson was that when another spiritual group that I am connected with helped to build a clinic in Tanzania, it was disappointing to see thousands of dollars of much-needed supplies sit on a dock for months, incurring fees, before they were cleared for release.
I pray every day that the truth continues to come to the surface to be transmuted and transformed, whether it is about slavery, the elections, etc..
I pray that we all raise our consciousness and that peace prevails on Earth in my lifetime,
Finally, I pray that we all realize that we have lived many lifetimes and have been male, female, various ethnicities, and victims as well as persecutors!
