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For some twenty years the words "Stephen Lawrence" have evoked, inevitably, a reaction in the listener, maybe shame, maybe sorrow, maybe regret, maybe anger. The legacy of a teenager who died while waiting for a bus in London so long ago is the reminder to each of us who is old enough to know, about human frailty and values.
Until the latest trial of his killers, much of what happened at the time and in the aftermath of police indifference and possible collusion, for example, was not known fully, and I was shocked to hear how officers looked on as bags of evidence were removed from a crime scene by the gang members, and that the drug-dealing father of one of the accused paid money to a senior policeman involved in the case. On the other hand, seeing Stephen's father, Neville, his life changed forever after so many years of fighting institutional prejudice and indifference in order to achieve justice for his son, talking with dignity and compassion in schools to teach young children of all colours about racism and violence and fairness was extraordinary and humbling.Over Christmas and new year, it seems that almost every day here in Britain there have been reports of stabbings, shootings, murder and domestic violence usually caused by drink or drugs or mental instability, examples of young unawakened souls learning (and teaching) about physicality, perhaps. The Stephen Lawrence case is very different: it is a case study in what it means to be human, and each of the different stories woven together through an event in April 1993 are parables in themselves, a little like Chaucer's Canterbury Tales - except that they are real and there is little to laugh about in them. The grieving, fighting wife and mother, the temperate but quietly determined father and teacher, the corrupt and racist policemen and women, the heart-less killers and their families each with their own history, the politicians who did too little for so long, the judiciary presiding over a flawed system, a media which lost interest, and then, of course, a young man who has been dead now for longer than he lived, but whose life has changed Britain forever. That is some legacy.
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I am a spiritual teacher, channel and writer with a special interest in esoteric philosophy and the world in transition, who loves nature and wildlife. My aim is to help your human and soul journey through spiritual wisdom, spiritual connection and the raising of consciousness.