No one is healed until everyone is healed

Kids and facilitators from peace camp, Halifax, NS. 2010

"No one is healed until everyone is healed"  Chogyam Trungpa Ripoche

Alice Walker once wrote that until we start caring for children other than our own than none of our children will be safe.  And so I wonder,contemplate,reflect …

How do we care for the children and youth of this world who don’t have access to the same privileges/opportunities that many of us have and take for granted ? How do we care for children and youth who do not have safe positive spaces (that many of us have) to explore discover and exercise their inherent goodness?  How do we care for children and youths who, based on race, religion, sexual orientation, class, physical, emotional and mental needs are part of oppressive, unjust, inequitable violent systems and structures that keep them from finding and blooming into their full potential? How do we care for children and youths who don’t fit the so called norm, norms that restrict bold and courageous children and youth, who if embraced, affirmed, accepted, respected could teach us ‘normal’ people how to stretch ourselves more fully into creative non ‘normal’ people?  How do we care for children and youth who choose violent paths out of frustration, anger, habitual patterns that continue to cycle?  How do we care for children and youth who lack mentors, positive role models to guide them through a steady diet of violence that ranges from multinational prepackaged food (poison), to the endless stream of violent tv, movies, music, video games, and internet? How do we care for children and youth when there are ‘power over’ people who believe violence in popular culture is fantasy not reality and therefor does not affect the youth in the violent choices they make just as the gun advocates believe there is no co relation between accessibility to guns and the violence happening in the streets, schools, movie theatres, shopping malls?

The time is now to reflect and act on the many questions affecting our youth today so that all our children worldwide can find spaces to heal, transform, blossom into the inherent strong, good, worthy beings they are and have a right to be.