The Week After

Traveling this week

to another part of the country (Kentucky)

Almost another part of the world

for the vast reaches of Eastern Oregon

I have gone from a place with magnificent mountains

more cows than people

to Chicago

to Louisville

And along the way I have been listening to a lot of conversations

And guess what people are talking about?

 

Yes, you got it!

The election

 

There is elation and agony

People who are hopeful, and people who believe the apocalypse is near

I have been variously amused, angered, and frustrated

I have listened to half truths, truths (from both sides) and downright untruth

 

Its hard sometimes to know how to respond

Ir is hard sometimes not to respond

 

But what has really hit me is this

We are really stuck!

We are stuck in our ideologies

Stuck in our fears

Stuck in our anger

Even stuck in unreasonable positive expectations

 

We 

are 

stuck..

 

I've been reading a humorous but accurate book on philosophy 

and hit a little section  on "absolute relativity"

 

to quote

 

"Much philosophical error stems from treating relative points of few as thought they were absolute

 The opposite error is possible too.  We may attribute relativity to something that is absolute. ... Keep in mind these thoughts on relativity the next time you send out for Chinese food - or, as the Chinese call it, food."

 

I find that I must remember that my place is realtive

shaped by my faith

shaped by my work

shaped by people I have met along the way

shaped by the people who have taught me and shaped me.

 

So as I feel the urge to gloat

or be angry

or frustrated 

I have to remember... this is my place

That is their place.... I may not be there

but they are... 

and they have gotten to where they are much in the same way I got to where I am...

and I have to respect that!

As I was listening to anger and fear 

and frustration... I had to got to a place where I could remember

that if things had turned out differently

I would be in the same place they are

reacting, probably the same way.....

 

and that leads me to realize that
I don't know it all

I don't undestand it all

I may be wrong

It's all scarily realtive

 

Yes, there are some absolutes

be we even pick our absolute

it is an absolute that we must take care of the poor

for others it is an absolute that... well

there are many options

 

So it comes back to this

What we need right now is to take some deep breaths

To listen, more than we talk

To put ourselves inside the other person's pain and fear

To have compassion

To seek to understand

 

We only succeed as a country

When in humility we realize there is good and bad

on both ends of the spectrum

When we stop demonizing each other

When we stop feeding fear, and start nourishing hope

When we stop grasping and start giving

When we stop hating, and start looking at one another with the eyes of compassion

When we stop hurting and start helping

When we pull together

And realize we are all in this together

Oh, one more thing

To me it also reminds me that we must 

As a nation be more spiritual

not religious, there is more than enough of that

but spiritual

In touch with the sacred

In touch with the God in us

But also aware of the God in that person

Who voted differently from us

 

We need God

We need each other!