Across the country, protests are happening that scream of our not-all-rightness. We are not all right, the children are not all right. It makes me think of this story about the Masai warriors in Africa: And How Are the Children.

“Among the most accomplished and fabled tribes of Africa, no tribe was considered to have warriors more fearsome or more intelligent than the mighty Masai. It is perhaps surprising, then, to learn the traditional greeting that passed between Masai warriors: “Kasserian Ingera,” one would always say to another. It means, “And how are the children?”

It is still the traditional greeting among the Masai, acknowledging the high value that the Masai always place on their children’s well-being. Even warriors with no children of their own would always give the traditional answer, “All the children are well.” Meaning, of course, that peace and safety prevail, that the priorities of protecting the young, the powerless, are in place. That Masai society has not forgotten its reason for being, its proper functions and responsibilities. “All the children are well” means that life is good. It means that the daily struggles for existence do not preclude proper caring for their young.“

I’m having some personal challenges – problems with my dental work, my electric trike broke down and may not be fixable, my finances are shaky, we’re in the middle of a pandemic, and life seems a bit overwhelming at times. But that’s a small drop in the bucket of what’s happening around me. Feels like the whole country’s going up in flames.

Many people I know and love are on the streets protesting, and I support that. We are reaping the harvest we’ve sowed with systemic racism and our refusal to change the systems of oppression. I hope that we’re going to find a way to recover that leads to substantive change. I don’t see the path from here exactly, but I’m not surprised this is happening. As the Liberal Redneck says, it’s surprising that it hasn’t happened more often.

I spent the last two nights watching live streaming of the protests, particularly in the city where I used to live. I spent hours yesterday reading and listening to different analyses of what is happening, posting some on social media, moderating comments on what I’d posted. Of course, that’s a rabbit hole, there is not a lot of point in me watching, or posting for that matter.

At the same time, I’m not sorry I spent that time deep in it. Not looking, turning away from it, is not the way to go either. But today it’s time to pull back. So I’m grounding myself, re-centering here, as I often do.

In all the commentary and analysis I read yesterday, the one that stands out for me is Trevor Noah talking about his perspective on what’s happening. I’m going to post it here – if you can’t access it, you can find it on Youtube. It’s the one entitled George Floyd and The Dominos of Racial Injustice.

Ok. Time to move into my day. I may be around more often again, I forget how good it is for me to be here. Thanks. 💜