Splendid Sunday to all! Another glorious week of experiencing and learning and being thankful for it all. This week, Gommy had the great pleasure of connecting with someone who is soooooo far ahead of Gommy in the enlightenment department that it turned out to be a wonderful week of learning for Goms. And Gommy has always loved, loved, loved learning.
During our conversations.....the topic came up of how people are so different in their beliefs, biases, outlooks, mode of living, etc. We eventually got around to talking about those people who are very Black OR White. There is no gray in their way of living or thinking. For the purposes of Gommys' blog today....we will also refer to those people as Willows or Oaks.
When you think of a Willow Tree, you picture a beautiful and graceful tree that bends in the wind. It goes with the flow....so to speak. When you think of an Oak Tree, you picture a strong, rigid and mighty tree that no amount of wind can cause it to sway. But the problem with rigidity is that eventually, it can snap and break. Gommy has seen ginornous Oak trees actually snapped in half from the 'strongest' winds of a hurricane.
Now the Willow tree will bend and sway......it will actually bend all the way over and touch the ground....but when the wind ceases....it springs back up again in it's rightful position. It can still go on living. You can see how it is better to be able to bend than to stand too strong and be able to be snapped in half and cease being the big, strong and mighty one. We all have our Achilles heels of life. That one....or those two things that can cause us to crumble, tumble and fall from our safe little cocoon of 'Life'.
As my new friend and I further discussed these Willow/Oak types of folks, we exchanged some of our own perspectives on different people and situations that we personally knew who exemplified these personalities. In our exchange of ideas and viewpoints, my new friend pointed out that....." the black or white people do seem to often find themselves in stressful situations because of their Blk/Wh views. But I have observed that what often seems to happen is that they will eventually present themselves experiences that they cannot ignore, or dismiss, or walk away from. And these experiences fracture and/or stretch their tight little Blk/Wh viewpoint. And they begin to soften, and be open to other things." WOW....how true is that peeps?
As referenced above, Gommy knows, first hand, that this is true. There is a family Gommy can think of in particular, who consider themselves to be the very epitome of Christians. But if you look closely at their inability to forgive others or listen to the times they talk about other people, or notice their prejudices......you will see they are only fooling themselves. There have been developments in their lives that have caused them to reflect on what they now view as acceptable. Then there is another friend who had a child out of wedlock and is also of another race. The grandparents have had to come to terms with their old prejudices and now love this grandchild.....no matter what race it is. And there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. In fact, it is promising that the children escaped the usual handed down beliefs of the parents. How could those parents not love their children and the grandchildren that came from those unions? They cannot! That is the 'lesson'.
Gommy wants to FESS-UP....right here and right now that there have been times that 'lessons' had to be learned the hard way for Goms too. But after realizing that 'it is what it is'....and we can all make mistakes......and our path may not be the path that is right for everyone......Gommy did find that admitting being wrong wasn't the end of the world. It was just the end of a misunderstanding....or the end of a 'no win' situation and the reality that everyone is not at the same juncture of our journey on this earth experience.
The point that Gommy is trying to make is that the universe has a way of jarring our beliefs at times. It is the mirror being held up in front of you and you have to admit that you were wrong. And when your own children are the ones that are doing the very same thing you have always 'preached' against...it somehow causes the person to have to soften their beliefs on that subject...either change (or modify your beliefs) or rebuke and turn their back on their own children. It is the best possible 'tool' that the universe could use...because unless you are so stubborn that you won't change your stance on the situation....you will soften and bend because of the love that you have for your children. It this sense..... it is absolutely true that 'Love Conquers All." Somehow....a little 'light' is shed on the situation and little by little we are shown that it isn't all Black or White or Willow or Oak after all. If it had been someone elses' children...the stubborn one could have kept on with their 'bad attitude' way of thinking.....but when it is our own children involved.....we cannot resist protecting them ....even if it means WE have to do the changing in our way of acceptance. That little 'crack' will allow for more acceptance and tolerance to ooze through.....if we let it. If we 'learn the lesson' we were supposed to learn.
So.....try to be a little less rigid in the way you see things. There may come a time where you are forced to change the way you feel about something. And that is not a bad thing. It is growth.....a growth toward going with the flow.....live and let live....minding your own business.....playing nice with others.....you can do it....Gommy is pulling for you. Hugs & Mush everyone.
