My Intention
Most of us struggle with our identities. Our parents may be of different faiths, nationalities, races, or political beliefs. We may have a public self and a private self whose basic values and needs are at odds with one another. Few people have a rock-solid identity with integrity to the core. The beauty of this problem is that our inner conflicts give us valuable insights into the lives and identities of others.
As I was making the TRANSFORMATION ORACLE, I came across MJ, a young man who was half Cheyenne, half Caucasian. He grew up on the Northern Cheyenne Reservation in southeastern Montana, yet now works at McDonalds on the Front Range of Colorado. His blood is mixed, as is his cultural experience. To which family, which people, does he belong? Perhaps he belongs to all people: he simply belongs to this world—as we all do. Once we unhook ourselves from our tribal or cultural groups, we open to the common ground shared by all humans.
The United States of today was formed by immigration. We forced the Native people to adapt to our way of being, making them cultural immigrants on what was their own land. Today’s world migrant situation compels us to wrangle with different religions, languages, and customs. Will we respond with tolerance and understanding, or hatred and rejection?