Dear Friends Desiring Peace, Countering extremism, fear and hate must start from the ground up.
Thoughts and prayers are an afterthought and they come too late. They come after the hate, after the violence and after the bodycount.
While it may feel important for us to denounce and send condolences, this does nothing to repair the culture that created these problems or prevent another hateful act of extremism.
Until we understand and address the source that creates this toxic fear in the hearts of these actors, which in turn drives them to these unspeakable behaviors...this will sadly continue.
Until we start to equip our children with a connected view of The Other and a clear understanding that hating another is an act of self-hate...this will sadly continue.
Until we are clear that if we don't develop healthy social-emotional skills in our youth, their ever-escalating fear and anxiety will eat away at them and....this will sadly continue.
Until we understand all of this, you can keep your thoughts and prayers, because the work that needs to happen to end this insanity is challenging ground-up work, and we MUST start with our children.
I urge you to get started on the hard work of creating a more accepting and interconnected generation, so that we can shut down the hate and fear by delivering the healing tools of love and connection to kids the world over.
Our sessions on World Religion are designed to open hearts and minds and create understanding and we have made this content free. We hope this serves you and your community.
Edwina and the Team at Spiritual Playdate
