Something New

Something Different, Something Needed, Something New

Hope

A New Way to Heal

Trauma- a type of damage to the psyche that occurs as a result of a severely distressing event.

This word has become more real and relevant to me as we get to experience the incredible stories of some amazing individuals. Starting this month, we get to spend time with and teach middle and high school refugee students in Clarkston once a week. The students we teach represent many walks of life from Ghana, Kenya, Korea, Dubai, Sudan, Uganda, Congo and Zambia just to name a few.  As we listen to their stories, the reality of their traumatic experiences come to life in living color. The persecution and violence they faced have given me a different perspective in how I view the issues here in the USA that we can address as citizens and New Way trainers.

Their stories also continue to validate and reassure me of the work that we do and how much it’s needed. Although the students’ circumstances may leave lasting psychological scars (and physical scars for some), you can feel hope. As we go through activities together, you feel hope arise through smiles and laughter, sometimes even tears. We feel how love touches the human soul and reminds each person of their gifts and value on this earth.

These weekly workshops have become one of the most powerful hours of my week as I see love conquer hate and heal brokenness in many. I see those that would not talk laughing uncontrollably with their peers. I see those that could not speak English well, speak the language of love that we all understand.

Although my natural experience are not anywhere close to being the same as the students, I am learning that any level or degree of trauma must be addressed with patience, love and understanding. I walk away weekly having learned more than I could ever teach. There is truly a New Way of dealing with the trauma in our lives. We must learn to go through the struggle together because we come out closer and stronger in unity on the other side. We are human! We are love. We are family.

Meet Cynthia

Cynthia is a volunteer with Something New whose heart to serve is driven by her love for teaching. In this time of travel bans and uncertainty, Cynthia roles out her classroom’s welcome mat everyday hoping to provide a safe place for her students. She contributed this Blog.

I have hope. Despite the heart-wrenching, divisive talk happening every day across our country, I have to believe we are so much better. Just step into my classroom and you’ll see why.

[Read more…] about Meet Cynthia

Defying the System: What We Can Learn from Congressman John Lewis

We are about to enter into a season in our country that has many people fearful, excited, uncertain, hopeful, angry and joyful. This list of emotions represents the emotional rollercoaster I have personally been on these past few months. The barrage of feelings is something that this article calls the “Trump Slump.” If this is such a thing, how do we prepare ourselves for it?

[Read more…] about Defying the System: What We Can Learn from Congressman John Lewis

Taught to Hate, Taught to Love

It has been said that you aren’t born to hate but taught to hate. I was born into a system that taught me to hate. I learned to hate the LGBTQ community, judge people that had less than me, and treat women like sex objects. Hate was subtly poured into me from an early age through fear of differences. I learned to dehumanize people and develop a strong hate towards the LGBTQ community, different religious groups, and people of color. This strong hate came from the way I felt about myself. I hated who I was. When I did try to confront it, people would justify it as that is just the way guys are–or even more recently, as locker room talk. It is bullshit and I am going to call bullshit. I was a participant. I was racist, full of hate and fear. I had so much hate in me towards gay people that I wanted to hurt them. I looked down on black people as less than me. I treated women as objects.

Perhaps the worst part is that we did all of this behind the “Christian” label. We were the holy ones, the righteous ones. It wasn’t until I fully realized how screwed up that I am, that I found God’s love. God is love, God made all people, God is bigger than our small minds can even come close to imagining. I must be willing to call out the system that taught me to be prejudice, to judge and to live in fear. I have learned that the same system that taught me to hate was also killing me. Hate does that, you cannot hate and love at the same time. I am sick and tired of the way this system oppresses people in an attempt to justify its own insecurities.

I have experienced freedom through love. Once you taste freedom, you want everyone to experience the same freedom. Freedom isn’t free; it requires sacrifice. Sacrifice is required to stand against a system that oppresses all people. I cannot sit by and watch our country, the world, operate under a dehumanizing system that judges people based on their color, sexual orientation, religion, outward appearance, money, etc.–not on the content of their character.

My challenge is to not become bitter at the people stuck in the system that oppressed me and continues to oppress so many others. This does no good except cause you to do the same thing that you came out of. You are still judging someone as less than you. You are putting yourself higher than someone else. That is the system. In order to be free from it, we have to let go of it. We must choose to operate in love– not a mushy love, but an unconditional love that chooses to see the person and not define them by the system they are a part of. We must fight the ideology that has created this system, not the people that are slaves to it. As true nonviolent practitioners, we must be willing to examine the areas in ourselves where we still follow the system.
In order to free others, we must become free.