Flowers are Red

MamaBlogger365 – Coloring in the Lines by Shira Adler, Diva Mama

This was a glorious weekend for me. I say that half truthfully, because the weekend also represented a fair amount of pain and sadness. It was glorious because I was able to reconnect with an even deeper purpose and conviction to the reasons why I am on this journey, on this path.

It was a tough weekend because I was accused, by some, of being a media whore and an idiot for speaking out against the relentless pursuit of accomplishment and the dark side of America’s achievement culture as seen in the compelling, can’t miss film, Race To Nowhere.

The Race to Nowhere became personal for me, 24 hours after seeing the film, when my Indigo son melted down in front of my eyes, and subsequently my iPhone. He was in a complete panic that he used the wrong color marker while coloring Flat Stanley for his second grade class homework assignment. “It has to be perfect,” my 8-year-old sobbed.

This exact circumstance is magically captured in a song written a generation ago by Grammy award-winner, Harry Chapin. The song Flowers are Red takes the protagonist from the edge of genius to the middle of nowhere. The song follows as a child tries and tries again to color outside the lines but is denied. Finally, after moving to another school, where coloring outside the lines is permitted, the little boy is unable to remember he even had the desire to try.

Note, to all you teachers who might be reading, this is not an indictment of you, the mostly caring, dedicated, overworked and underpaid legion of educators, but rather a reflection on the educational system and each of us responds to individuality. For too many, achieving a “perfect” result matters more than the personal style and beauty of the effort.

I urge everyone to watch the video and listen to this song and read the lyrics for yourself. This is never about any one child or any one song or any single school district or specific teacher. It is about each of us.

I cannot yet discuss details of the response I am getting from anonymous bullies and the “system” but suffice it to say that this Mama-bear is no shrinking violet and I am ready to take a stand on this issue. I hope this blog resonates for each of you, passionate Mothers, Mamapalooza members and Mamazina readers.

This is what it’s about — being a Mom, standing up to defend our children’s individuality, Indigo natures, mind-body-spirit integration and just plain ol’ basic educational needs. My original video was only shared previously with school administrators, close friends and advocates. I am now sharing it with my larger Mama family. You can view it on YouTube here. Stay tuned…

BIO: By day Shira Adler is a cantor, spiritual vocalist, certified pastlife regressionist, voice-over artist, producer, performer, writer/blogger and mompreneur and by night… well, she is actually the same person at night though she does admit to wearing fuzzy socks when no one can see her and hiding a secret stash of Mallomars somewhere near her writing desk for those late night pick-me-ups. In, around, and between her various work activities, she is raising two beyond-the-spectrum children as a single mom (though lovingly gives a shout out to her best friend, editor and soulmate whom she considers the bees knees). Is it any wonder her website’s tag line is One Voice Many Paths? Seriously, look up the definition of a multi-tasking Mama and you will find her picture there. But when it comes to living a life of connection, faith and consciousness Shira is the gal to call — or if you’re fresh out of Mallomars — she’s always happy to give you one. For more information visit: ShiraAdler.com, read her blog at Diva-Mama.com; Social: Twitter (1DivaMama), Facebook (DivaMama1), Tumblr (not really sure, but the name is cute) and LinkedIn (because doesn’t everyone?).

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