“I have learned silence from the talkative, toleration from the intolerant, and kindness from the unkind; yet, strange, I am ungrateful to those teachers.” ~ Khalil Gibran.
I have never studied Shakespeare. I have of course read some of his more popular plays, though usually in a modern form. In the original I find the language challenging, and it is usually only when the lines are delivered by a talented actor, with the right inflection and emotion that I can gain understanding through context. Many of the famous lines of Macbeth I know through my time in the Drama Society at my high school. A talented teacher, a Scotsman, Thom Cross, ambitiously had us perform a version of the play, imagining it set on a Jamaican plantation during the period of enslavement. The mistress (played by the only White girl in the group, me) had organized a production of Macbeth with her slaves playing Macbeth, Lady Macbeth, the witches, etc., etc. I forget what year this was, but it was at a time when Jamaicans were well aware of the atrocities of slavery, the inequities of the colonial system, in other words, we were ‘woke’!
I was not a good enough actor to sink myself into the role. For a start, I had wanted to be one of the witches! But how could I play a role I despised, the representation that was all that was wrong with the way White people had treated Black people over centuries? How on earth good people can play evil monsters and murderers in plays and movies, I have no idea! I personally have never liked Michael Douglas ever since the traumatic ‘Fatal Attraction’!
But back to Shakespeare. We are living in an era that at times feels better suited to a Shakespearean tragedy, with infighting and corruption and power-mad leaders. But it was a scene of destruction that had me looking up Shakespearean quotes. (Trigger warning for my nature loving friends). The recent wanton massacre of hundreds of trees at a public golf course in Washington D.C. despite a direct order not to do anything irreversible had me thinking of the prophecy in Macbeth: “Fear not till Birnam Wood do come to Dunsinane”. I had to go look it up, and get the meaning. The prophecy had meant to reassure Macbeth that he was invincible (after murdering the King and usurping the throne), that his reign would last until trees got up and walked. Unfortunately for him, the trees did get up and move (aided by those tricky forces of Malcolm, the rightful King), leading to Macbeth’s downfall.
This administration appears to follow a strategy once recommended to me by a former boss, that it is easier to ask for forgiveness than permission. In the case of some of these irreversible destructive acts, how can the unforgivable be forgiven? Whether it is the 200-year-old ‘Grandmother tree’ in Arizona being felled, a tree sacred to the Tohono Oʼodham Nation and Yaqui people, or the immigration policy which separates young children from their parents, there are so many acts of cruelty it is hard to keep up.
This week I was privileged to attend an award ceremony, sponsored by the JM Family Enterprises for over 30 years, where four local ‘Black Achievers’ were honored. Individuals in the fields of Arts and Culture, Business and Entrepreneurship, Community Service, and Education were chosen from a field of over 200 community stars. I went in support of Darius Daughtry, the Founder of Art Prevails, a non-profit organization that promotes the arts, provides workshops for children and adults, puts on plays and so much more at a time when diversity and culture are victims of federal funding cuts and policies. But while there I heard the stories of the other honorees also, and felt humbled by their achievements and dedication.
The Community Service award went to a gentleman born in Jamaica, an immigrant who, along with his siblings, came to this country as a teenager to a single mother who cleaned houses to support her family. Eventually she became a Nursing Assistant, and then an LPN. Her son, Kirk Brown (the honoree) is the CEO of Handy, Inc., a non-profit organization that supports young people, especially those with limited support (for example, those leaving the foster system), in areas such as education, career guidance, housing, and more. In his acceptance speech, Mr. Brown emphasized the importance of kindness in all that we do, telling us that his organization practices unconditional love and empathy for all the young people they encounter. How wonderful!
So in the midst of all of the egregious acts of cruelty, there are still individuals working to improve the lives of young people, through the arts, through acts of loving-kindness, through education and through business opportunities. And these were only four people highlighted. How many more stories such as these are out there, unheard and uncelebrated? How lucky are we that we humans have such capacity for good, for continuing to do the work even when the head winds are against us?
Even as we mourn the loss of trees, the cuts threatened to our national parks, the destructive acts of agents of the federal government on the streets of our cities, we are beginning to see cracks in the walls of power. More of the corrupt acts are being exposed, more of the population is seeing through the lies and misinformation which have dominated the social media platforms and the airwaves. Perhaps, after all, God is not sleeping! Another similar saying that comes to mind: ‘God don’t like ugly’. As we see more and more acts of pure ‘ugly’, we are sure that a day of reckoning is coming, and those of us who have watched in horror have already booked front row seats for the coming ‘autoclaps’ (or even ‘attaclaps’ a Jamaican term difficult to translate, but one which means a crisis, and, similar to Armageddon, suggests a day of judgment).
And so, on this Friday morning, despite all of the chaos and corruption, I am still feeling hopeful, trying to learn lessons as Gibran said, of kindness from the unkind, of tolerance from the intolerant. There are always lessons available to us, if only we have minds open to them, and are willing to learn from the mistakes of others. As always I suggest nature to restore you when you feel hopeless, and the arts to distract and entertain you when you feel down. And when you can, donate to one of the many non-profit organizations that, despite all that challenge them, continue to work for the good of all.
Have a wonderful weekend, Family!
One Love!
Namaste.
