Place of Peace
Have you ever had a moment in your life when you were just okay? When it felt like the entire world was going to come to peace at that moment? I have had that feeling a few times in my life. The first time, however was the most shocking.
Imagine with me if you will. I was about 15 or 16 years old and I was in Memphis, Tennessee. I swear it was 130 degrees in the shade and I had just gotten off a charter bus with no air conditioning to visit the infamous Lorraine Motel. The Lorraine Motel, for those that don't know is the motel where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated. I know it is all beginning to sound weird, but stay with me on this one.
So they have converted the motel into a museum, focusing on the Civil Rights Movement in the United States as well as the life of Dr. King. They have the bus where Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat, there is a timeline on the wall, there are television screens depicting the demonstrations where the police used dogs and fire hoses on demonstrators, and as you wind up a staircase there is the garbage workers strike being depicted. All of this is very well put together and informative, but this was not where I was moved. The struggle for equality and freedom is something that I have grown up with, so these images have been burned into my brain and psyche. They have been the reason why I fought so hard in school to get rid of people auctions as a fundraiser. They have been the reason I was active in BSA, P.A.N.D.A., and fought in college for the rights of all minority students. They were not, however the reason I was moved in this space and time. So I will continue.
After you wind up the staircase there is a glassed in area with an informational kiosk and a tour guide. In front is a plate glass window the looks out on what could be considered a very nice view of foliage. Then the guide explains to you where you are, you are taking the final steps that Dr. King took, you are in the hallway to his room. First an uneasy feeling settles in like you are in a place you shouldn't be, that you are encroaching on a private moment in someones life, but once you cross the threshold that is when you know peace. It is washes over you like a cool shower on a hot summer day. It takes you by surprise like when you do something embarrassing and hope that no one sees it. So, I looked at the woman to my right and we both asked each other, "Hey did you feel that?" And of course we both replied, "Yes." It felt safe and comforting kind of like how you feel when you come home for the first holiday during freshman year in college.
That feeling only happens for a short moment, but in that moment I have never felt more secure in my life. It is the homeostasis that we seek everyday in our lives and I was blessed enough to be apart of it in that moment in time. I have had that feeling definitely one other time. I will put that in a blog later, but if you have not ever had that experience. I am sorry. It is the most wonderful feeling in the world. Maybe that is how new moms feel when they see their babies for the first time after nine months of non-tangible, faith based bonding. I guess I will either wait and find out or just ask. That is still up for debate.
I wish you all that overwhelming sense of peace and safety. It is truly a blessing.
With love,
Ms. Denva
No comments:
Post a Comment