Dear Stephanie,
I am writing this letter from a place you’ve never been…. but I am there with you.
Like looking into a mirror, I see your sweet, expressive, receptive, beautiful face. I hope you feel beautiful in this moment. Because, I know that your black joy is shining and it will change the world. The way you shine when you dance. I miss you. I miss THAT… and I wish these bones could leap and twirl and twist and bend like they used to.
In retrospect, I sit with gratitude. Thank you. Because your generation was so motivated by compassion to lay down the burdens of division, I will rest as an old woman in my time. I am full of gratitude because even in the darkest of nights, you maintained your beliefs. In yourself. In the movement. In love. Despite the uncertainty, despite the heavy, heavy darkness. I know, it’s hard to maintain well being and a sound spirit where there is hate, violence, brutality. The execution of innocent children on their way home from the store. The unjust imprisonment of their fathers. Oh the fear one feels at this disrespect for life. And the anxious thoughts that coarse through our black bodies. But, you did not let down. You did not let those anxious thoughts shut you down. You let them stir you to act. To move. To sing. To dance. Those of us here now owe you a great debt, Ms. Wilson.
As you know, despite coming from a loving family and a sense of community, their love could not protect me from the crushing oppression waiting just outside that circle… and how that oppression seemed to seep into those safe places, has always been a source of confusion. But forgiveness can be a powerful remedy. And friendship is the strongest of allies. And so I write to you to remind you not to let hate creep in. Not to be preoccupied with the mistakes of others. Not to get hung up on your own mistakes. How do we break these impossible patterns? You already know what I know, don’t you? You must cultivate compassion, empathy, and most of all love. Remember, those “…devoid of the power to forgive are devoid of the power to love.” You have to “…believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word…” Without this belief, without this commitment, it could take a whole lifetime to understand what real love is. A whole life to finally understand how love WORKS.
Around your age I asked myself, “Do you want to wait that long?” What pattern has a hold on you, Stephanie? Generational trauma winding through your DNA? Scars on the back of your soul? Break the pattern. Forgive. And in time, trust me, trust me…. you will begin to feel the generational strength, divine power and riot within that will propel you into your true fate. Your deserved future. Love fiercely, Stephanie. Find those that are committed to the good, those who have made the same commitment as you. Are they already with you? You know the ones, those that feel a moral obligation to stand up, speak up and speak out. Those that say something, and name it, when something is not right. And not just those that speak out about injustice, but those that DO something about it. Be sure to be present with those friends. Be present, and together you will move toward a future where peace has finally triumphed over violence, aggression and war.
I know this to be true, and I hope that you can be present now. Let ME worry about the future and anticipate your troubles. Your task is to live in the present moment wisely and earnestly for the benefit of us here now. I remember. Rushing from one game to the next. Racing through each moment as if time were infinite. Too caught up in the day to day to be present with a friend or take time for yourself. When we fail to appreciate those tiny moments, we forget the importance of small things. The roses… the peonies… lilacs… purple iris… Remember to surrender to the small things in this very big moment you are living through. Remember that you are enough just being you and nothing more. Like one glittering star in the night sky, you are the keeper of a story that is on a continuum… a continuum of infinite tiny, equally crucial and precious stories that create OUR REALITY… that realize OUR FUTURE. How do I know? I am your future. Now is your story.
Yours truly,
Stephanie
10th of December, 2080
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