Ive been pretty numb lately and have been compartmentalizing a lot of the pain and trauma in the moment. I’m reminded by my somatic practice that these are actually important human survival superpowers that protect ourselves and keep us going in these times. But Collin is also always a great reminder of my humanity and what it is to be alive and feel. From being misunderstood, picked on by other kids to the racist and fascist history of our country, he feels things (most things) very deeply. This is his superpower.
In this moment of hyper visibility of anti-Asian violence, I’ve been keeping it chill on sharing and “educating” him about oppression in the United States. He already knows because he’s living it. In fact, his generation of little ones have lived through Trump and took that red pill early.
Last month, on our spring break trip in San Diego, we spent the day at Balboa Park and went to the Nature Museum and Air and Space Museum. The Nature Museum was smooth. But we got to the Air and Space Museum, things started to unravel. First, it was, “Why do all the planes have missiles and bombs?!” and then there was, “Why did the US want to kill the Vietnamese, my ancestors?” I wasn’t trying to spend my Saturday doing political education on war and militarism so I re-directed and asked, “What would you and your friends want, war or peace?” The conclusion was, “Kids are smarter than adults because we all want peace.” That did it. Whew.
THEN as the museum was about to close…