A Warrior of Peace

There is no script on how we deal with the loss of a loved one. And it truly is a loss, a hole that can never be filled, an ache that lingers. If we are fortunate, we find ways to remember them, honor them, and share them with those that knew them, and with anyone who we know would have benefited from their mere presence. For those of us who remain, paying tribute in whatever way we can, sometimes can be a way to heal, or simply a way to cope, and regardless is in some small way, an opportunity to keep them close, to feel and see them again. 

Shanna Lim, who goes by “Shae”, is a dancer, video producer, and academy teacher for Words Beats and Life but most of all a mother, and a mother who is living with a terrible loss. 10 months ago, her son, Jedi passed after drowning in a terrible accident. It is a burden and a suffering that no one should have to live with, a pain that will never truly subside. A wound that forever remains. Sometimes, however, this is where the beauty and power of expression, of art can use that energy to uplift and to celebrate. A tribute to her son, Warriors for Peace was produced by her, and edited by Rafhael Dungca with the help of her community, a global family of movers, and dancers that came together to not only commemorate a life but to celebrate one. 

The video is as much a tribute to the global family as well, pulling people together from Egypt, Kenya, and Tanzania. Each piece is a slice of the flavor of the places to which the dancers are from, and their contributions are a testament of beauty, love and fun, just like Jedi. Around 2/3rds into the video, a special tribute was created for her son with the help of her best friend, Rita, a DJ and dancer in her own right who also had suffered 4 losses in her family, and appears with Shae in her piece. The final section of the montage is a ceremony with the Maasai people in Tanzania. The footage is of Shae spreading ashes with the Chief & Elders of the Maasai Tribe in Arusha. The ending is especially poignant because it was a trip Jedi would have been on. The trip became an opportunity for Shae to carry her son to places he’d hoped to be. She even had the opportunity to get his passport stamped at every stop, a touching way for him to finally travel in the way he’d always dreamed of doing. 

When I spoke with Shae, his presence was so clear and still strongly with her. Her reflections of who he was, were so bright, 

So Jedi, one of his friends called him a sun-eater because he illuminated the sun. He had, his light was so bright, his laughter was so bright, he was an equal of peace and exuberance and joy. He cared for people, cared so much for people, but he was such a jokester.

He would take somebody in a sad situation or someone who was about to feel embarrassed about something and he would just pull it right out and turn it into laughing at themselves. It was that moment where you were almost offended, but yet you ended up laughing that you couldn't be offended.

He was just so bright, you know. He would emanate peace. He was extremely wise. He was an observer, a studier.

Not many people got a chance to get deep with him because of all the laughter. He was always a clown, but he was also extremely serious.

He was an interesting polar opposite. How he'll walk into a space and there's peace. In the video (in the excerpt with myself and Rita) that would have been his peace place. That's why I chose that.

And so many subtle choices that were intentional, from the name of the video “Warriors of Peace” (Jedi’s middle name ‘ZhánShí Hotep’ loosely translates to “warrior” in Chinese and “peace” in Egyptian), to rooting the expressions in a global context, (as Shae also shared Jedi’s desire and love of travel) to even the location selected for her tribute to him in the video, (Jedi also loved nature). Shae’s mentor, Camille who is also a photographer, selected the site where she would film her piece. A major prop in the section, a burning chair is significant as it was a chair owned by a relative of Camille’s who passed. The video is able to speak to anyone in its power but also is an intimate and touching love letter to a son. For Shae, it was also hopefully a way for others to find peace and healing, related to loss.

It's an image of confronting fear and trauma. It's a mother's dedication. It's a healing, curated moment for a grieving mother. It's a message to her son that he's an inspiration to the light. That the light is still shining. In love. I've always been told that I do extra. That's how I get extra done. That's how I go. People can take grief and do something. powerful. They can make something special. It's the thing that keeps me functioning.

Doing things to keep light on our own. What you see is a collective of energy, people that identify with the warrior spirit and also who fight for peace.

Ultimately, Shae wanted to make sure that while the tribute is personal for her, and to her, it also was a work of art, and work that resonated with others, whether or not they had the full understanding of the tribute.

OK, there's some type of energy or something going on in the piece in terms of what they're representing and then It's almost as if my piece, my section is sort of the reveal of that. But there's something happening. There's a reason why these things are occurring in terms of the movement and the places and yet (people may say) “Oh, maybe this is a tribute to the African styles or maybe this is trying to represent, you know some type of global culture movement”, but then you get to my piece.

Oh, there is that but there also is something more so I think maybe that's for what I was really thinking. It takes on something else when we get to my piece almost as if the energy that you're experiencing through the piece is another meaning and when we get to mine there's even more that this video is doing and wanting to represent. It feels as if the second part or another part of the story is revealed in my section. And then obviously, the Maasai ceremony at the end of the journey as well. So it just added more meaning to something that felt like there was something more to it. I just hope that people enjoy it and want to watch it again.

“Warriors for Peace” are many things. It’s a celebration of dance, of life, and of friendship. It is a tribute to a dear son who was an artist, dancer, and lover of music and culture himself, and a work in the process of grieving. It is honoring both life and death, loss and change but most importantly it is made in, and for the honoring of love. It is a way to say to all of us, show your light, and shine your light for everyone, just like Jedi. 

Shae has also created a clothing brand in honor of her son, Jedi. If you would like to support please check out the collection below.

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