Another angle
(still by Bob Ng)
“There’s been an attempt to limit the reality of what is.”
Immigration On Friday morning of September 20, I am spending a couple of hours for my naturalization interview in the federal building on 630 Sansome Street in San Francisco that houses the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Then later at 1 pm, in the oath ceremony, I am reciting the Pledge of Allegiance. Standing, holding up my right hand like everyone else, repeating the words after our master of ceremonies, I am engulfed in a chorus of immigrants’ voices from all over the world. Out of maybe 80, only two are Caucasian. The man leading us through the 20 minutes ceremony, is most likely a judge, but without his robe. He is an elegant, kind, and personable elder. We can hear the genuineness in his voice, and we are genuine, too. As we pledge allegiance to this country, the English sentences might ring slightly different for each of us. In another minute we will be citizens of the United States. Something in me is expanding. I am swearing to be a responsible an...
Reading this article reminds me of your post from a couple weeks back about looking the woman in the street in the eye when she came over to ask you for help. There is so much looking away going on, so many [white] people avoiding reality. It also reminds me of how you are teaching me to come into center and to greet life directly, rather than hanging back on my heels. I see it in so-called intellectuals as much as anyone else, an inability to really be present with one another and confront the reality that we are living in. The process of coming into center feels so relevant now, and so important to caring for one another. -Aysha (that other anonymous comment you responded to was from someone else, not me!)
ReplyDeleteYeah, Aysha, when we see with the eyes of the heart and the eyes of the center we begin to fully and directly relate to life, others, and our existence, and wasting our precious time is not an option anymore. We start to CARE !!!
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