I was thinking of a guest’s 12 year old daughter when I signed the petition supporting Greta Thunberg, and her young followers who are doing their best to help establish a new world system on our planet.
This amazing group of young people obviously don’t believe that the system we have been using almost universally for centuries, is as wonderful as we, and past generations have been led to believe!
Well it hasn’t worked for the environment to start with;
nor for the poor; nor for the majority of women and girls in the world; and even for the majority of men either, in my opinion!
Our guest’s 12-year-old daughter would probably agree “we need a new system”; well at least keep developing our emerging new system. A win-win system. A system that better serves the planet and its inhabitants – all of them!
Covid19 with its Delta Deviant locked us down right over the Olympic Games making me free, for the first time in my adult life, to watch them! What amazing women and men!
But then came the Para-Olympics! My amazement, disbelief, shock and awe probably shattered the peace and quiet of Piha most nights as I watched the day’s highlights from Tokyo.
It was a life changer for me! I marvelled at the audacity of those Paralympians for taking on such sports – what’s wrong with Tiddliwinks or even Solitaire if you want to go digital?
Yet here were young men and women without arms running races and throwing javelins;
or without legs, throwing themselves into water to SWIM!
I was in awe too of what their parents, their siblings, supporters and trainers must have gone through to enable the miracles that I was watching!
Yet, they all looked ‘ordinary’ – nothing special about them. Just like that 12 year old girl that I keep thinking about – ordinary.
Here’s some of her photos to prove it. Ordinary, just like the rest of our children.
So how come they are chosen to work miracles – do work miracles?
I suggest ….
It’s what they believe that makes it possible.
It’s the type of support they get that creates the difference.
It’s everyone’s willingness to RISK that enables the miracles to happen.
Because otherwise, they all look very ordinary kids and young women and men, to me! Yet all working towards creating a new system for the planet, another way of doing things; one that will enable, eventually, all of us to ‘win’ gold!
And this is how it seems to begin …..
A young girl (e.g. the 12 year old I keep referring to) feels strongly about something – this time it was to have the chance to play the sport she wants without obstacles, bullying or ridicule!
She is encouraged and supported by us as she explores her talents and possibilities
She goes ahead and acts!
Perhaps she will see what happens – perhaps she won’t – but the miracles are quietly working away bringing change and healing into the planet and into people’s lives. I am totally convinced of that! I’ve seen it happen in lives over and over again. It happened in our lives (didn’t it?) – just that it tended to happen much later but you parents are doing such a brilliant job parenting, that becoming a globe changer is beginning much earlier – or is it that there is more freedom and supporters nowadays?! Perhaps both!
Let me give you an example ….. Schools have ‘speech competitions’.
Last year ‘speech time’ came around for my friend’s 12-year-old daughter.
She wrote her speech revealing the pain of a girl bullied because of her desire to play a sport that discriminates against her.
It sort of looks like a 12 year old’s speech, doesn’t it!?
After it’s delivery the teacher, impressed at the mature argument and forceful delivery, rang my friend to say how sorry she was that there had not been a chance for her to hear her daughter’s impassioned presentation of her beliefs, her convictions and of her pain!
How wonderful for a 12 year old to have her pain understood by significant adults; wonderful, to be given permission to show her passion and outrage for an injustice that offended her day after day; wonderful, for a 12 year old to have this outlet for her anger rather than female passive acceptance which too often leads into our high depression statistics.
Sadly, in another school, a 12-year-old finished her impassioned speech on a similar topic and as the class clapped and the 12 year old returned to her desk, the teacher said “sounds like you could become a man-hater”. The applause stopped and the class ….. laughed.
Let’s support our young people as they go for GOLD in enjoying the sports of their choice. Already, after years of being the World’s best, our women’s rugby team is at last going to receive some personal financial support! Who knows what or ‘whose’ energies helped bring about that miracle!
Let’s hear young women’s pain and even if we don’t really ‘get it’ can we at least support their visions – their beliefs – their goals. Who knows what might come from the dreams, energies, discipline and ambitions of the young within the newly emerging win-win system!
Bev Holt
April 2022
