I have been reading a book
entitled: On the Corner of
Sweet and Bitter. It is about 1942 when the Japanese
bombed Pearl Harbor. In America,
everyone from the President to the man on the street was fearful of any person
who was of Japanese decent. So as
the story goes, all Japanese were herded up like livestock and sent to
concentration camps---retention facilities where they were treated with distain
and contempt.
As I was reading, I realized
that although the ethnical group of people has changes, the situation has
not. People still fear other
people today who are different from themselves whether they are black, Muslim
or any others who appears to threaten their life styles.
It
is the hatred and anger that seems to fuel the lives of so many people—it
sometimes startles me to see how people can perpetrate those feelings for
decades.
As
I was reading this book I could feel the deep pain, suffering and fright that
took place for these Americans who also happened to be Japanese. I feel as if this is still going on
today in many parts of our world and it is heart breaking. So many want to know when will war
stop. War will stop when each one
of us decides to love, honor and serve all human beings with no difference to
race, or religion.
So
many are looking for the faults in others and I see a pattern in so many of my
own clients who view themselves harshly because of past choices. If you cannot honor and adore your self
and work towards healing you- how can you honor and adore another
unconditionally?
If
we could only let go and heal from the past injustices and pain that has been
inflicted instead of continually keeping the event in the fore ground---how
much healthier our lives would be.
It is just a thought but one, nonetheless that surfaces
often---especially when I see people act out so strongly.
I
also see how those in power encourage that behavior and in fact add to it by
their deception, greed and own desire to stay in control. That is not the way we will resolve the
problems of the world; that attitude and behavior only breeds more animosity
–anger and resentment. History is
continually repeating itself and most of us do not even see the forest from the
trees.
Is
it any wonder that we have so much physical sickness in the world? We are internalizing all that negative
energy and we keep stuffing it into our bodies until it has no place to go—so
it eats us up, literally from the inside out. Wow--that is not how I want my life to play out and that is
not how I want to live. I believe
in forgiveness and turning the other cheek. Most of the time it is not about the other person, it is
about me healing me. If I am the
most important person in my world, and I believe that I am, then why would I
continually cause me harm by digesting negativity such as anger, hatred and
resentment? What are your thoughts
on the subject? It would be
wonderful to hear from you.
We
tend to blame families for the sins of their members and we do the same to
different nationalities, cultures and people. In the book that I just mentioned, it captures the love
between a young Chinese boy and an American Japanese girl, who was born in
America but nonetheless treated with disdain. How shameful is that? I am no more to be blamed for my father’s
indiscretions nor are my children for mine yet we do that daily to each
other. In the story, the young
Chinese boy was disowned by his father because he tried to help this family yet
the young boy, Henry, could not understand that point of view. He only saw the pain and suffering of a
family and a people who through no fault of their own, was feared, bullied and
punished. Does any of this
sound familiar to you?
Joan Marie Ambrose
Author, Creative Writer, Motivational Speaker
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