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Primitive religion is not believed, it is danced!

Arthur Darby Nock

Earth's crammed with heaven,
And every common bush afire with God;
And only he who sees takes off his shoes;
The rest sit round it and pluck blackberries.

Elizabeth Browning



Thursday, October 1, 2020

Islands shouting lies

There is another element that must be present in our struggle that then makes our resistance and nonviolence truly meaningful. That element is reconciliation. Our ultimate end must be the creation of the beloved community.

                     ML King Jr.  April 15, 1960, in Raleigh, North Carolina

______________________________

 

In this time of division

My heart longs for community

 

In this time of anger and a thirst for retribution

My heart longs for community

 

In this time of Covid isolation

My heart years for community

 

a beloved community

a gathering

in whatever way we can gather

in person, on line, in the living rooms of our souls

 

a beloved community where

the truth is told (even if it is hard)

empathy is everywhere

compassion is offered freely

generosity is the norm

 

a beloved community where

resources are shared

people are lifted up

the vulnerable are protected

 

How did we get to this place where

“We're all islands shouting lies

to each other across seas of misunderstanding.” (Rudyard Kipling, The Light That Failed)?

 

How did we get to this place where

lies abound

and resentment and retribution are a way of life?

 

I am a natural introvert who has

worked hard to embrace extroversion

I like my books more than most people

and that saddens me

 

and yet when I do not have ‘my people” around me

when I do not get those moments of interaction

and am left

alone

 

I learn what the problem is

it is an inner emptiness

and aching emptiness that makes me feel

vulnerable

 

as if the trials of the world

will crush me

 

as if all those troubles will be too much

and I will implode

 

as if the weight of love

will be too much for me to endure

 

and so I distance

so much distancing

 

sometimes we distance quietly,

sometimes we distance aggressively

angrily

 

however it happens, it happens

and with the distancing comes pain

as we reject and exclude and wound

 

this morning I look out my window and watch

the sun rise, turning the haze a brilliant orange

and then, pushing harder into the sky

yellow

bringing light to the earth, illuminating

 

and I know

my heart cries out

telling me

that we must find a way back together

 

we must return to those deep places within ourselves

where God lives

we must journey inward

and then journey outward

 

carrying Sacred Love with us

as an offering

 

and we must find a way back into community

 

after this coming election

if we merely exchange one power for another

but remain divided

full of anger, thirsting for retribution

 

“now it is our turn”

(as happened the last election)

 

we will not find community

we will not find prosperity (no matter what the stock market does)

we will not find peace

we will not find hope

 

we will not find love

 

and what the world needs now

is love


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