We are intricately connected with one another...

"Your freedom stops where mine begins" my mother once said to me. I would dare to add that my freedom is linked and intertwined with hers.

Let's imagine for a moment a world where all its inhabitants live with no respect for the laws. Imagine all of them stepping on each others toes with no restraint. Imagine a world where everyone can do anything they choose to without impunity. Imagine everyone driving their cars without licenses, without paying any mind to traffic lights, stop signs, or directions. Where they can switch lanes or make u turns whenever, however, or wherever they decide. Imagine garbage bags being dumped everywhere. Imagine all creatures wandering aimlessly foolishly without directions and colliding with each other. Imagine everyone invading each other's space without restraint. How does it feel? Doesn't it feel and sound like a familiar place to us?

On planet earth nowaday there is a new trend where everyone is designing and creating unique and personal world, no matter the cost on the rest of the planet.  Everyone is becoming an isolated island, no matter if the rest of the world perishes. What we fail to understand is that when we cough the world sneezes and vice versa. That we are intricately connected to each other like the cells are to each other in our body. Whatever our aspirations,  the rest of us, the vulnerable, the challenged and the poor need to be considered.

Freedom and liberty in our time tend to be equated with stubbornness, disorder and chaos. While in fact Liberty is our right to do whatever we decide to do that will not hinder/disturb others'. The right to express ourselves without crossing others' boundaries. Freedom on the other hand is our right to autonomy, to be without physical restraints or shackles.  The right to speak our minds without hindrance yet in a respectable language so as not to offend our neighbors' vulnerable ears.

 As I get older, the wisdom behind my mother's hidden truth have become more clear and tangible . I learned that being emotionally intelligent in diffusing anger and hatred do not make one weak. That on the contrary, there is more strength in those who can walk away from a fight, give without being noticed, forgive even when forgiveness is not received.

Therefore, being all parts of the same earth and universe let's be mindful of whatever we do. Our freedom of choice was divinely and purposefully given to us as a drive to help us love, build and succeed. Remember that whatever is going on our toes will ultimately affect our faces, our whole body, if we decide to neglect "those minimal parts" as if they weren't parts of our body.

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.

We are part of the same fabric called universe

As I stroll down many roads, and watch several events, I wonder if we have not lost our way. Words like conscience, remorse, shame, intrinsic values do not seem to exist anymore. Have we lost our way?
Two years ago my children gave me a subscription to dating sites as a Valentine's Day gift. This was in anticipation of their plan to move away from the nest. My initial reaction to their offer was "thanks but no thanks". Then, with plenty of hesitation and fear, I agreed to explore the possibility of finding a mate online.
Instead the ugliness I uncovered had shocked me and rendered me speechless.
I discovered web of liars, con artists, cowards, criminals. Such bizzare creatures are using their computer screens or their telephones as hideouts. What a shame! What a dysfunctional, monstrous and sickening society we are creating!
We are giving ourselves free passes to hurt "others' children" as long as they are "not ours".  Not understanding that others have the same mentality to hurt others' children as long they are not theirs. So at the end we all become a bunch of fools and losers.
For we are all threads of the same fabrics. We are all intertwined in the same fabric called universe. We are parts of tbe same body. As a head, one does not care for the injury of little fingernails or toenails until the pain radiates and give them a massive headache. We are different elements, cells, structures of the same body. Without you being whole I will not be whole. Your cough will make me sneeze.
When we hurt a woman, we hurt all women. we hurt our mothers, daughters, sisters, aunts, cousins, female friends and wives. When we hurt a man, we hurt all men.  We hurt our fathers, sons, brothers, cousins, uncles, male friends and husbands When we hurt a child, we hurt all children, our children.   When we hurt each other, we are hurting our ownselves.

Love is the greatest healer of all time.

We are the Catalysts of our Miracles

It is my understanding  that there are different types and levels of miracles. The Creator/Giver of life, creates and provides continuously and indiscriminately air, rain, sun, crops and cattle of the fields to all. He cares for the tiniest as well as for the most gigantic creatures. These are continuous  miracles bestowed on the collectivity unconditionally. (Famine and starvation are human made)

On the other hands, there are miracles that are only contingent upon our willingness to ignite the power within us.  Such power will allow our desires to manifest in our lives through faith and obedience

Moses in order to lead the Israelites out of bondage, had to ignite the power in him by replacing his fear with faith. Then, all it took for all the miracles to happen was his baton and his faith. The woman of Sarepta, through faith and obedience was able, despite the minuscule amount of flour and oil, to feed the prophet and her son. Her blessing was toppled by an overflowing riches and grace that carried over generations afterwards.

The young boy did not hesitate to surrender his five loaves of bread and two fish  for the Master's plan. He ultimately witnessed his participation in the divine plan that satisfied his hunger as well as that of the whole community. He had allowed himself to partake in that indescribable miracle of sharing.  The same  dynamism applied to the woman with the issue of blood, the lepers, the lame, the blind and the dead. They witnessed their miracles because of their faith and obedience.

There are occasions where we impede or sabotage our miracles. Cain for example missed his miracles because of his lack of faith; and unwillingness to offer his best.  Abel on the other hand, honored The Lord with the best that he could with the understanding that all belong to God; that he could never out-give The Lord. Therefore, despite his violent death,  his sacrifice will remain at The Heart of The Throne of The Lord of lords forever.

Jesus Himself spoke of a town where no miracles happened because of their lack of faith. Jesus went on sharing the secret to our miracles: a bit of faith as tiny as a mustard seed in The Living God.  Jesus replied: "If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, 'Be uprooted and planted in the sea,' and it will obey you. Like 17: 20

Created at the image of The Father God Almighty, we have been blessed with the power to walk in our purpose. We need faith and action for them our miracles to come to light. We need to believe and allow God to operate in our lives without hindrances.  We need to tap into that divine energy, and dynamically activate that supernatural power though faith and obedience to bring about our miracles.

Our Existence Intertwined

I liked sitting on the floor and inviting my children around; coming home sharing the highlights of my long work days. Often times it was about the simple blessings that I called miracles. Joking around, I would point out that every time I was inadvertently caught up in the rain without an umbrella, I would look at the sky and pray for the rain to halt until I reached my destination.  I would hear the rain behind me, and as soon I reached my shelter, it would start pouring. It happened over and over. I would share the countless blessings in moments of dire need, but was not successful in convincing those young kids of mine that they were miracles. Those days are over. I hope that as adults their eyes are opened to witnessing their own abundance of miracles.

One Summer, I had decided to go spend some time with my ailing sister about 60 miles away. Since I normally do not like to drive, furthermore, was too exhausted to take the bus, my son agreed to drive me there. It was a scorching hot day, not one to be dealing with mishaps or drama. I had reclined my seat to ease my back, and had begun chatting with my son, when suddenly I heard him sighing. Then about a few feet away, I heard a screeching sound. My son went outside To take a look, came back inside, then moved the car a little bit further. Fortunately, we were right by a gas station. He eased the car next to the air pump and got out. Then came right back inside, "We have a flat tire that needs to be patched". What! What's the plan? I interjected...He kept on moving. Few yards away , behold there was a car repair shop. The tire was patched for 50.00 and we headed to my sister's.

On the road as I was thankful and grateful for that new miracle,  I continued sharing the blessings of that week.  Suddenly my son interrumpted me saying: "Mommy,  what had just happened was a miracle. Everything else you mentioned were just coincidences". He went on explaining that he had accidentally gotten off the wrong exit. That what at first seemed a nightmare turned out to be a blessing from heaven. If he had gotten off at the right exit, the flat tire would have happened in the middle of the highway. I deducted that  even in the safest case scenario, the car would have needed to be towed; the financial cost would have been greater. Also, waiting under such extreme heat could have potentially caused health complications -such as dehydration and stroke- to both of us. At least my son and I were on the same page, that together we had witnessed a miracle.

Miracles come in many different forms and different packages. The gift of life, the air that we breathe,  the food that sustain us, all that we take for granted are miracles.

Drink the Wine, but Respect the Bottle

When I found out that my name meant "Strong Spear", the divine impartation in me suddenly took off to a higher ground. My eyes opened; and the reasons I had survived the storms of my life became crystal clear. I began to reflect on my life in a more meaningful way. I began to question the purpose of the elements around me:  a spear,  a knife,  a gun, a rock, a flower, water, fire, and so on. I became more curious about the common things, and began to pay attention to their symbolisms.

When The Bible evokes God's Word as a sword with two edges, it opens one's mind to the fact that everything in life can converge only towards two different directions.  It points out the reality of good and evil, life and death, joy and sorrow.  The tree of the knowledge of good and evil suggests a choice between two possible trajectories: one toward doing good, and the other toward doing wrong.  The world of opposites was created right in The Beginning of our world. The world of light and the world of darkness strongly divided since its inception. It has been up to us to utilize or manipulate the world around us to promote, or to destroy life.

Let's consider water for example. According to scientific research, water makes up 60 - 80 percent of the human body. It also stipulates that we can live up to 21 days without food, but cannot live without water for more than three (m.livescience.com). Yet this same essential water destroys us when we fail to manage it properly.  No one in his/ her right mind will go too far in the ocean without the proper gears and the mastery of natation.

Another element vital to our survival is fire. Attractive by its flamboyant color and flame, this divine wonder keeps us warm, cooks our meals, entertains us. Yet, when let out of hands, it becomes deadly and destructive.

A knife, another essential tool, is used across the world in cooking,  science, medicine and arts.  When used carelessly, this master piece becomes a deadly weapon as well.

The locomotive collection that carries us from the cribs to the graves oftentimes had turned out to be our coffins.

The Internet, this latest discovery, has propelled us beyond our imagination.  Yet its dark side so dense and terrifying seems to be taking us faster and deeper towards our decimation.

Reflecting on this simple exercise,  I can hear my mother's voice echoing: "drink the wine, respect the bottle".  This axiom supports the idea that the source of every thing is  a giver or maintainer of life as well as the decider and finisher of life. Consequently, a sacred entity should be approched with respect and reverence. In this light, whatever we use, let us use with respect. Whatever we uproot to consume let us replace. Let us rebuild whatever we destroy in our path, refill whatever we deplete, repair whatever we brake. Let us be mindful of each of our actions, for they are seeds released in the universe.

The way we live our lives testifies of the trails we will leave behind. Remember that whatever one sows, one shall reap. It is up to us to plant seeds of righteousness,  or else. Even if the trees of our actions fail to produce fruits during our life span, they will certainly in due time. Our children and those of our children's children will reap the fruits of life, health, joy and happiness. Or they will bear the fruits of death, sickness, misery and bitterness.  Our children and the children of the world will dance and rejoice if we consciously individually and collectively make their world a better place. Or, our children and the children of the world will be grinding their teeth if instead we leave them a hellish mess. It is up to us.....