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| MANDALA of WOMEN WEARING HIJABS. (Art by Hallelujah Truth, aka Ruth Schowalter) |
Instead of embracing diversity, so many people in our world seem to be battling for their perceived "right" way of being. Not one to turn on the televison, I do listen to National Public Radio fairly regularly and glance at the New York Times, here and there, but most of my awareness of world affairs is first discovered on Facebook. Whatever world news is trending gets commented on by friends and acquaintances I respect--even ones with different opinions. They link to news stories and I follow their trails.
As the candidates for the USA presidential race campaign, terrorists massacre the innocent in public spaces, and Syrians flea the violence in their country and seek refuge on a massive scale, the intolerance I am witnessing haunts me. What can each one of us do to support our personal FREEDOM and that of others who differ from us? Today's REVERB15 (Day 11) prompt seems relevant to my question:
REVERB15 (Day 11) Prompt: Muriel Rukeyser once wrote: "The Universe is made of stories, not of atoms." And I could not agree more. Our stories are our own but, in sharing them, they become universal. And timeless. What stories touched you this year? Which stories of your own are you glad you shared?
Today in response to this prompt, I want to embrace and honor two Muslim women's personal stories I heard on today's Morning Edition on National Public Radio (NPR) today. They are doing what they can in their community to connect with others to foster a better understanding of who they are as individuals and their choice to wear a head covering.
You can click on this NPR link to hear it:
Muslim Women Who Wear Hijabs Are Fearful of Backlash After Attacks
Each one of us needs to tell our personal stories based on our experiences to foster tolerance and promote FREEDOM for each of us to live securely in our communities and to blossom.
During my time as an English language instructor at the Georgia Tech Language Institute, I wrote the following blogs and created the images as I processed my understanding of women in hijabs.
That Something Other: The Mystery of the Hijab
Patty Griffin's Impossible Dream and the Journey of One Spiritual Art Pilgrim
I Never Thought the Burka Would Seduce Me
Veiled: Exploring Connections and Finding Meaning Across Time, Culture, and Purpose
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| ACCEPTING WHAT WE DON'T KNOW WITH THE READINESS OF LOVE (Art by Hallelujah Truth) |
I went "oooh!" when I saw the top drawing (and the Klimt-fabulous piece under Journeying Courageously, too). Will check out the links later!
ReplyDeleteThere's so much here (and in your other linked posts) for me to think about Hallelujah. "Accepting What We Don't Know With the Readiness of Love" is not only a beautiful piece, but something I'd love to see adopted as a universal principle. Indeed!
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