“I remember a time when a word spoken callously, an action informed by judgement, the life story that robbed me of opportunities presented to others created a scar; a scar that gets deeper with each reminder that I am lesser than another.
By virtue of my history, my role and my lack of, I carry guilt for having more than others; and, in not wanting to make them feel inferior, I carry a deep loneliness. All of us are swimming in a sea of pain, having internalised the inferiority that someone inflicted on us – making us feel less than, not good enough, and sometimes our own thoughts and feelings.
If the individual scars run this deep, then what of a nation that was systematically schooled to internalise inferiority? Yes, we were forewarned that our minds would be the weapons in the hands of the oppressors, and yet the pain runs deeper than what the mind can comprehend. The heart has shut off from its own intuitive guidance.
Can I see the whale and be inspired to move effortlessly, with grace and humility, naturally?
Can I be big and beautiful without being puffed up with pride?
Can I embrace the space of feeling neither inferior nor superior?
I am aware that all around me are people swimming against the tide, surrounded by their own pain. As I glide past you, I don’t know your story, but I see you because we are connected in our pain. Let us meet in a healing field and tend our collective wounds, so that the noise, the pain, the ongoing cycle can end.”
Rehana Moosajee is a Research Associate at the SACN and founder of The Barefoot Facilitator, who work is about reconnecting people with themselves, other people and the natural environment around them.
