This place is home to two different realities: the white, rich reality; and the poor, black/colored reality. In the white, rich reality, where I live and shop and worship God with others, there is a sense of calm and peace in this place. The ocean that surrounds us is a thing of beauty, a playground, a place of rest. It’s something to take photos of and to simply enjoy. But in the poor, black/colored reality, this place of beauty is full of hardship, of starvation, of generations of oppression. And nothing about it is easy or relaxing. This ocean that is so beautiful to the other reality is but a source of free food for others. The children of this poor reality may never even see the ocean that they live so close to, that is until they are older and must work on its rocks, away from the vacationers, to help their own family to survive another day. On this same beach both realities co-exist, ignoring one another for both protection of themselves and the reality they know to be true for themselves. My prayer is that these two realities will one day be more balanced, more accepting of one another, or at the very least, to recognize the other reality exists, maybe even see the gifts found in each other’s realities. My prayer is that one day those with much will feel burdened to help, long term, those who have little to nothing. But until that day I must find a way to work between these two realities.
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