Division…
Division…
Greeting dear friends & fellow navigators, welcome to my world this weekend. I wish the world was not so divided. You know what pains me the most? It is how much people love creating boundaries & bringing others down. The endless “you vs. me” & “us vs. them” ~ it is as if they thrive on drawing lines & forming sides, forgetting we are all fundamentally the same.
Some commentators in both legacy & social media seem desperate to be seen as supportive of identity separatists. What gives people this authority to divide & spread hate? Is it a mere chance of birth in a more developed state? Or perhaps it is the comfort behind a screen, passing judgments on things never seen. Casting stones from sheltered places & finding fault in different faces.
The stereotypes are ridiculous. What does being a coloured person have to do with the music one creates for example? Does music have a colour or a face? Is talent only respected from our own race?
I have had a few health issues this past ten days, & early on struggled to sleep more than two~three hours each nite early last week due to the pain. One could say how fortunate a time to be so, given all the wonderful Olympic games on throughout the nights, & you could be right.
I was indeed blessed watching some enthralling events, talent, courage & outcomes. Some of the love & respect shown & witnessed amongst most athletes I watched was very impressive, perhaps one boxing example excluded. Highlights otherwise including one Julien Alfred, the fastest woman in the world from Saint Lucia, & the only medal ever won by her country.
Many countries, are still developing as a nation, still grappling with numerous challenges. Much like a child who learns from observing their parents, they too inherit the prejudices & biases of the world around them.
There is stereotypical behaviour within my own culture too, but change begins with you & I. Individually, we cannot change how people think of us & they think of others. Stereotypes are subtly planted in our minds through our experiences & values. What I do know is we are not so different, & it does not take much to see this. We often hold biases about things we do not understand & people not even met, driven by a need to belong & feel good about ourselves.
Yet, our ability to understand others transcends language. The more I travelled during my career, the more I realized, despite all the things setting us apart, our desire for love & appreciation transcends all boundaries.
It is easy to put people in boxes, drawing lines, creating sides, building stereotypes. But you & me? We are the same. I did not choose where I was born, but I can certainly choose how I want to live. I do not want to live a life of boundaries. I want to live a life of cooperation where I can live among people of different faiths & cultures without having to feel smaller than I am.
I do not want violence & hatred; I want peace & love. I want to fall in love with a world where every skin tone is seen as a beautiful stroke in a masterpiece of colours, as one has typically seen at the Olympics.
The world may continue to look down on me today, but when we finally become even, I will show them there is no place for hatred & differences. We are all children of God, even if our Gods are not the same. The world is still growing & so am I. I am a pale-skinned simple country boy originally from Waimatuku, & I am reaching for the sky.
Just few observations again dear friends, & provide merely an opinion in my world. Thank you again for stopping by, I appreciate your being here. If my journey encourages you also, all is well with my soul. I hope your days are filled with love & affection. Looking forward to being back next week; this is Kenn Butler in Paradise, Nelson with best wishes.
kenn@kennbutler.com
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