Monday, April 11, 2011

a layer (stay strong / don't yield / don't hide)

i get quite the gamut of stares during my travels throughout the balkans and in instanbul, in particular. a disturbing amount of men look at me either as if i'm an an object that exists only for them to toss around in whatever way they see fit, or with absolute disdain. i can't walk down the street or go to the bathroom at a roadside rest stop without experiencing one or the other - or both.

as difficult as that is to hold / navigate / let go of / stay strong in myself in spite of, it is no accident that i inhabit this body. it is part of my work. it is part of my dharma. who i am doesn't have anything to do with my physical appearance, but it is a vehicle from which to do my job. my real job.

enact social change.
highlight the unified human experience.
see and share the similarities through experiencing the differences.
educate.
empower.
lead by example - not by force.

2 comments:

Zımbılik said...

In istanbul, I was kind of worried cuz I saw 3 men picked up a place right in front of your mic, immediately they entered the hall. And remembering your post on facebook about the guys with cameras. I thought "ok I hope they wont do it" or else you would kick them I guess which would be awesome =) but, still you would have lost the spirit maybe, I don't know. I don't know you. O=)
I think you stayed one step back all the time. And I think they didn't harrass you right? I was kind of in a "shock" so I didn't pay attention to them, I was jumping up and down, dancing, singing. =)

Lasara Jarvis : Live Person said...

I love you, mama.
I've just come back from retreat. We were silent throughout every morning. I was so surprised to find that I was MORE PRESENT in the silence, rather than withdrawn. I was even more surprised to learn that what remained, when everything else fell away, was happiness.

Thinking about you.