The Lady Bloggers Society - Writing Challenge

The Best Thing I Can Do For The World Is...

The best thing I can do for the world is to continue to challenge every belief system I have been taught but do not necessarily agree with...

Growing up in South Africa in the 80's meant I was exposed to a great deal of hate speech.  This was predominantly to do with racism, but also to do with many different types of prejudice.

As you all know by now, I am in a cycle of self-discovery, healing and change, and something that is very important to me now is that people do not judge me without knowing the facts. 

Anyone who knows me knows that I will not tolerate any kind of hate speech - especially around the boys.  I do not want them growing up with the same hatred in their hearts and minds that my generation was exposed to.  If you asked me to pick one life lesson that I think is most important for my boys to learn it would be "live and let live".

As a child and more importantly, as a teenager, I was taught (or heard) a great deal of prejudice, and when these lessons are taught to you during your foundation years they very often become part of your reality.  It is a constant choice (and even battle) for me to make up my own mind about prejudice-type topics.  My "knee-jerk" reaction in certain situations is to condemn people who do not come from the same race, culture, religion, economic standing etc that I was raised in - and I have fought all my life against these spontaneous thoughts because I do not agree with them.. at all... I am a firm believer in "live and let live".. not only do I believe in it, I practice it every day.  And even in this day and age I am exposed to prejudice all the time - but gone are the days where I will let these "voices" have any space or time in my existence.

The best thing I can do for the world is to ensure that the part I play in raising tomorrows generation is to instill a belief of love, honour and mutual respect; for it is only in this way that the scars of the past will heal once and for all in my beloved South Africa.

Red or Pink?

I have become a member of The Lady Bloggers Society.  I know I am a day late with this, but I only found it today, and the Red or Pink challenge is speaking to me with a connection to my post of yesterday... so I am going to post it today!

Red or Pink?

When I think of these two colours at the moment, I see where I am and where I would like to be..

Red represents the rage and fear that I am currently facing... It is the colour of blood.. it lets us know we are alive no matter how much it may hurt.. I see red.. I feel it... I am desperately trying to make my way out of it... It is a hard colour... it is in your face.. and it is stubborn..

Pink represents the gentler feeling I am working so hard to find.. it is the colour of roses... and rose tinted glasses.. it is a soft colour.. it is calm.. it evokes feelings of all things girlie.. Pink is loving.. caring.. and easy on my soul..

The irony that Red is the colour of love for the commercial world but the colour of rage for me has not escaped me..

These two colours are so close and yet in such contrast for me when I align them with my current emotions...

I see Red
I long for Pink

One baby step at a time...