Go to the Edges

Your inspiration for the week:

The center is not where

You come to rest

Apart from it all, 

But it is what holds you while

You go to
Edges.

And go to them for

Everything you believe in,

For everything that is 

Rare and real to you.

Go to the edges 

For the gaping earth and the 

Devastated lives,

For the swallowtail butterfly,

And the dog with the sad eyes,

And the mother who 

Went thirsty for days

To flee a pointed gun

And cross a border.

Go for the one who does not know

That her laughter is fragile,

For the one who holds a flower

And not a bomb.

Peace

Is not an inherited gift,

But is made 

As we live.  

     - Laura Martin

Question for discussion: Whose struggle touches you and inspires you?

Broken Hearted

Your weekly inspiration for action:

A new tragedy or outrage strikes.  First I am shocked.  Then I “hide.”  I get cynical or philosophical, which is my way of protecting my heart from what I cannot control by letting my head deal with it.  Then, when I make time and space, the dam breaks.  After a good cry, I can feel again.  I wrote this poem back in March– I can’t remember which bad news triggered it.

Broken Hearted

I witness the world turning.

I refuse to pretend it doesn’t hurt.

My heart breaks.

And I am not afraid.

I wear my broken heart with pride. 

I cry in public.

Over and over the tears flow.

Washing away bitterness, and, strangely, despair.

I will not hide from your pain.

I honor your broken heart.

I listen to its cries and

I gasp at the radiance that floods out from the cracks.

   -Terry LePage

Question for discussion: 

Where and how do you find a safe space to mourn the losses you are witnessing?

Closing Inspiration:

Change does not roll in on the wheels of inevitability, but comes through continuous struggle. And so we must straighten our backs and work for our freedom. A man can’t ride you unless your back is bent. 

      - Martin Luther King Jr.

Blessing When the World is Ending

Your weekly inspiration for action:

This poem was read by Paul Tellstrom at IUCC this past Sunday.  It struck a chord.

Blessing When the World is Ending

Look, the world
is always ending
somewhere.

Somewhere
the sun has come
crashing down.

Somewhere
it has gone
completely dark.

Somewhere
it has ended
with the gun,
the knife,
the fist.

Somewhere
it has ended
with the slammed door,
the shattered hope.

Somewhere
it has ended
with the utter quiet
that follows the news
from the phone,
the television,
the hospital room.

Somewhere
it has ended
with a tenderness
that will break
your heart.

But, listen,
this blessing means
to be anything
but morose.
It has not come
to cause despair.

It is simply here
because there is nothing
a blessing
is better suited for
than an ending,
nothing that cries out more
for a blessing
than when a world
is falling apart.

This blessing
will not fix you,
will not mend you,
will not give you
false comfort;
it will not talk to you
about one door opening
when another one closes.

It will simply
sit itself beside you
among the shards
and gently turn your face
toward the direction
from which the light
will come,
gathering itself
about you
as the world begins
again.

Jan Richardson, from Circle of Grace, used by permission.

Suggestions for Spiritual Actions

Reprinting some food for thought this week:

100 SUGGESTIONS FOR SEEKERS, SPIRITUAL ACTIVISTS, AND INDIGO CHILDREN 

from Josh Bolton at thewisdomdaily.com (the first ten suggestions.)

1. Speak to the homeless.

2. Become sensitive enough that you’re overwhelmed with awe when you come upon old bridges and other long-standing architectural elements.

3. Social media fasts every Friday night through Saturday early evening.

4. Simple gratitude mantra recited every morning – whether you mean it or not.

5. Read Alberto Caeiro’s poetry in the moments closest to sleep – especially in the summer months.

6. Stop using the language of “belief” to describe the encounter with God.

7. Don’t employ hyperbolic cynicism on social media platforms.

8. If you earn more than $135k give away all monies above $135k.

9. Keep a small running list of friends who need to be “thought of” and think about them (even briefly) each day.

10. Annual ritual ablution in any natural (or unnatural) body of water for sake of washing oneself clean” and to reinforce inner-conviction that no matter what we have done, there is almost certainly the possibility to begin anew.

Building the Road as We Go

Many of us are finding our way into a new activism on behalf of our values. And we are building the road as we go.  Returning to California, I discovered some friends were participating in a rather ad hoc group. They answered one of those emails to “start/join a group in your area” from an organization that hasn’t given them much support since. They are learning that voter registration is not as simple as you might think.  Trader Joes won’t let you put a table in front of their store.  Several other organizations want you to write the corporate office first. The Post Office is friendly ground. The Highway Patrol must approve voter registration in front of the DMV. If they do,hopefully everyone will be so bored waiting in line that they’ll talk to anyone.  And typing  “rock the vote” in Google will direct you to online voter registration: good for Millenials.

It turns out you can walk around just about any public space with a clipboard and do low-key voter registration.  But Margaret does need a chair.  Margaret is the oldest member of the action group at 91. She experienced the Nazi occupation of Holland as a teen, and her father died at Dachau.  Trump reminds her too much of Nazis; she cannot stay home and do nothing.  So Margaret attends meetings and registration drives faithfully, speaks with charm and passion, and from her chair, helps builds the road for tomorrow's democracy.

(Margaret has a bit of a media presence too:

https://muckrack.com/andrea-adelson-1/articles

http://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2017/08/19/laguna-beach-unity-rally/)

Closing Inspiration: 

To grow a garden is to believe in tomorrow.

     – Audrey Hepburn

I Will Never Give Up on Love

My dear friends, today is a day of reflection for me. I feel the turmoil and the fragility of our democracy intensely. And I wonder: what can I do? Do I just turn away and close my eyes? Do I allow the sense of powerlessness that washes over me to win?  I don't know the answers. But I have decided that there are things I can do right now: I will stand up for love and inclusion. I will hug my children and kiss my spouse. I will love my neighbor. I will promote understanding and acceptance by listening deeply when I encounter viewpoints that are different from my own. I will be vigilant that my words are aligned with my sense of integrity. I will not use what I believe to manipulate others. I will personify the peace that I seek in this world. And when I fail to do so, I will forgive myself and try again.  I will fight hatred and injustice by not fanning its flames. I will reach out to people in need. I will seek to walk a mile in others' shoes before I judge. I will stand like a rock when winds of anger blow past me. I will not buy into the hype that seeks to only separate and outrage. I will deepen my commitment to learning our history and understand that freedom is not possible for all until truth and reconciliation (rather than repression and ignorance) are heard, processed, and honored.  I will do research when met with cheap talking points aimed to infuriate and inflame. I will embody love each time I am met with anger and fear. I will. And I will renew my commitment each time I fail and keep going. I will walk boldly and with determination. I will remind myself that growth is painful. I will never give up on love.      – Marie Trout, 8/12/17 Marie became a U.S. citizen this month. She says:  Feel free to copy, or modify (the above) however meaningful to you and state it to yourself, to your friends, and set your intention too for each step forward. We are the future. We have the power. Question of the week: What have you done for love or justice that was out of your comfort zone? Closing reflection:   There is no way to peace; peace is the way.      -A. J. Muste

Our House is Too Big

     To pray is to build your own house.  To pray is to discover that Someone else is within your house.  To pray is to recognize that it is not your house at all.  To keep praying is to have no house to protect because there is only One House.  And that One House is everybody’s Home…. That is the politics of prayer.  And that is probably why truly spiritual people are always a threat to politicians of any sort.  They want our allegiance and we can no longer give it.  Our house is too big. 

     – Richard Rohr

Question for discussion:  From which sources do you learn the back story— the context of issues?  Where do you get depth and clarity? (I'd love to hear responses in the comment section!)

A closing inspiration: 

In daylight, one candle is insignificant. In deepest darkness, one candle is radiant.