poetry

Kaleidoscope: We All Derive From the Same Tribe. {poetry}

 

This poem is in response to a year and a half of seeming chaos: the pandemic, issues of racial inequity, and political upheaval.

Like the poem states, so much division and separation. In different ways, it has been hard on us all — emotionally, financially, spiritually, health-wise. Many of us have lost loved ones too. We lost six members in our extended family. When you get hit like that, you start to expect that it might keep happening.

A silver lining, as social engagements fell away, was that many of us were gifted with more time for reflection. We have had the opportunity to ask ourselves, where do we go from here, how can we use these hard experiences for growth, how would we like to see our personal and global worlds be moving forward?

My belief is there is wisdom we can take from what is occurring to create more harmony and awareness in our world.

A few years ago, I watched a documentary produced by National Geographic or PBS. Using DNA, they researched the ancestry of 12 or so Americans of different races. If I remember correctly, the data they found showed that eight or nine of the 12 had a common ancestor a different number of generations back.

A light bulb turned on for me — I thought, if only everyone could see this documentary, they would realize we are truly one big family.

Seeing this scientific proof, or for some other more benevolent reason, can we not be tolerant and kind?

***

We all want this chaotic time
to ease up. So much division
and separation. The life
we have come to expect
quaking under our feet,
with many voicing
what we believe
to be absolute truths.

My honest hope —
this stretch of strife
might result in a softer
aftermath, where we live
in greater harmony
as tenants of our one world.

Through it all, my heart keens
for peace. And unity.
Integrity, a vital touchstone.
Day by day, I aspire to follow
my own inner whisper,
reminding me that
no one set of beliefs fits all.

I think about this a lot —
how we are a kaleidoscope
of diverse histories,
races, religions, languages.
We come from distinct places,
but can we not be tolerant and kind?
That which makes us different
is what makes us wholly special.

Scientists say, if you go back far enough,
we all derive from the same tribe;
each of us retains a remnant
of the same DNA
from some six million years ago.

***

Carolyn Chilton Casas is a Reiki Master and teacher. Her favorite themes to write about are healing, awareness, and the life journey. Carolyn’s stories and poems have appeared in Braided Way, Energy, Odyssey, Reiki News Magazine, The Art of Healing, Touch, and in other publications. You can read more of Carolyn’s work on Instagram or in her first collection of poems titled Our Shared Breath.

***

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