Friday, June 19, 2015

What is the color of love?





As racially charged tragedies around the country have plunged us into a plethora of emotions, diverse comments and attitudes have left me drained and hopeless. As a way to cope, I had to revisit some of my writings to find strength, clarity, faith and hope. In an array of choices I decided to piggyback on "The Color of water", by James McBride. (by the way a must read).  Suffer that I share fragments of my analysis along the way.

     "What is the color of love?
One day my youngest daughter asked me if I had a race preference into which she should marry, I answered spontaneously and truthfully: "Go wherever there is love, for love has no color".  I have since heard other parents utter the same words to their children.  When my black daughter fell in love with a male of Jewish descent, making interracial grand-children a plausible reality in my life, I decided to explore the pros and the cons on this issue.  I discovered the book:  "The Color of Water", a masterpiece collection of the good, the ugly, the forbidden, the sacred, the infamous, the famous, the chaotic, yet the fantastic story of a Jewish woman who fell in love with, and married black men more than once -half a century before The United States Supreme Court rules in Loving vs Virginia-.: In this book James McBride, one of Ruth McBride Jordan's twelve successful offspring, brings to life one of the most inspiring stories of a mother's love.  It is almost another half or a century since it became legal for people to marry outside 'their race, but how much has society evolved when it comes to accepting interracial relationship as a natural occurring?  How has society progressed in its acceptance, understanding and surrounding of "children of mixed descent"?  How much have societal bias and prejudices faded?  Have children born form interracial relationship been able to progressively embrace cultures on both sides of their family as being parts of who they are? How do bi-racial or multiracial children cope with being rejected by their extended families, and by society?  These are questions that arise from the book, which may never get satisfying answers; puzzles that may never be solved.  However, when we ask ourselves what are the reasons behind the McBride's and Jordan's success stories, one can lean towards the possibility that it branched out from the unbending faith, unconditional love, and relentless devotion of an exemplary mother...........
Despite her saga, Ruth was no whiner, and had no time for foolishness. She understood that time was time, and once an opportunity is missed it is gone forever.  She was a swift thinker, fighter and decider.  She had no time to waste in pointless arguments, yet she used very occasion to empower her children. Bluntly honest Rachel had no fear of telling the truth without judgment, resentment or hatred.  She played her game fairly with the understanding that is is okay to lose, but one must always try. Her concept of unconditional love was built upon her understanding that we are all children of God, and that some of us are more fast-paced than the others in progressing towards life wisdom. She held no resentment towards even her worst enemies. Through her ordeal, she got to discover that if God is a Spirit who loves all his children of all different races, nations and color, He must be of the color of water. That all that emanates from Him including love must be consequently of the color of water..........." Excerpt from The Color of Water Analysis, Transcultural Nursing Spring 2013 Gerth Val

Love has no face, no race, no shape, no color, no origin, no destination. Love is love; and it only comes from the heart!

This insinuation that the color of water is the color of the Divine is without doubt powerful. From this color emanates all other nuances of color. I remember as a child dazing through a clear water, and looking at the reflection of the sky. All the surrounding trees blended together with my reflexion. I was flabbergasted, amazed at the inexplicable.  Now, everything has become so usual that it is taken for granted.  Nothing seems to be precious, sacred or mysterious anymore. 
What is the color of our blood? What is the color of our hearts ( the organs )?
While we can adopt the blackest dogs or cats as white individuals; or whitest dogs, cats or dolls as people of color, when it comes to human beings we are so underdeveloped.  We have allowed our minds to remain shackled and play trick with us using melanin a pigmentation factor to dictate us how to act and react dealing with our brothers and sisters. We are discriminating against each other on the basis of skin pigmentation instead of the darkness of the inner self. The color of the skin can truly be misleading. Angels and demons have lived on our planets in different colors, think about it. For me I have moved beyond color for many of my family members have married to people from different races; bringing flavor and therefore, I have enjoyed learned to enjoy the beauty of every race. That integration and unconditional love have killed the monotony of one particular race, instead had brought spiciness, elegance, culture and diversity to my life.

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