Rosa Parks Day is celebrated on February 4, her birthday. Parks started a personal and political revolution – and became the mother of the Civil Rights movement – when she refused to give up her bus seat to a white woman. She refused to obey the racist and demeaning law that forced African Americans to sit at the back of the bus and was motivated to an act of heroism.

ROSA PARKS’ BRAVERY

At first glance, the ancient technique of Ho’oponopono has utterly nothing to do with Rosa Parks. It might even seem like I’m stretching it, but I believe there’s a link between both Rosa Parks’ courage and the desire to want to create a better life for oneself. Why? Bravery. Fearlessness. These are things that should motivate us, force us to find courage and step outside of the box.

BETTER TREATMENT

 It takes bravery to put your foot down in your own life and say I deserve better treatment than this. I deserve freedom from oppression. That’s what Rosa Parks was able to do, in spite of any fears she had, in spite of anyone else’s opinion of what if she should or should not stand up for herself. She had, in spite of friends concerned for her safety, she said no to a terrible and unjust situation that was degrading and threatening to strip her of human dignity. But she was able to take her personal power back, even though she was living in an oppressive time, in a system with laws designed to deny her self-respect and self-worth, she found a way to use her voice. That one no echoed around the world, and today, Rosa Parks is considered to be one of the world’s most honored heroes of the Civil Rights movement.

WHY ROSA PARKS REMINDED ME OF HO’OPONOPONO

 Saying no and lifting yourself out of circumstances you know are hurting you is a main key to self worth. So then…what about Ho’oponopono? Through Ho’oponopono and other self-awareness techniques such as meditation we can become more in touch with ourselves and more able to change the world we live in. The ability to find the courage to change our world is an inside to outside job and we can only do it by leaping into the unknown.

Photo by Metro Transportation Library and Archive