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When Ruth, Lori and I write about similar topics, it is funny how consistently we each fall into a role. Aunt Ruth has a folksy no-nonsense approach. She pulls in things she’s read and seen online. Lori waxes poetic, spinning lines that inspire. Me? I come in with the facts and a how-to spin every single time and this time is no different.
Earlier in the week, Lori wrote about reconciliation in her post Reconciliation Requirements. It took me some time to order my thoughts but I found myself contemplating a National Park Service program my son got to participate in. Called Pen or Pencil (POP) the program is all about breaking the school to prison pipeline. Because a part of this is racial tension, a big part of the program is reconciliation.
It is one thing to say that we want reconciliation to occur. It is another to do our part. As taught by the POP sessions my son attended, these three things need to take place for reconiciliation to take place.
Recognize Bias
Like I teach my writing students, we all have to learn to recognize our biases. Bias is the slanted way you and I see the world. It is shaped by our beliefs and our attitudes. It is especially important that we recognize how our biases shape our behaviors.
The most difficult part of this is realizing how bias shapes unintentional behaviors. Me? I’m the Queen of the Eyebrow Raise. My oldest niece has mastered the eye roll. Medals are also given out for the head shake and the martyred sigh.
For reconcilliation to take place, we need to own these things and be willing to do something about them. Sigh.
Truth Telling
Another vital part of reconcilliation is truth telling. This doesn’t just mean telling everyone what you think. In reconcilliation, truth telling is a process of airing grievances and misundertandings.
Wait? Didn’t I just say it isn’t all about telling everyone what we think? That’s because of the final, and perhaps hardest step.
All Voices Heard
Everyone has a voice at this table. When my son attended this program, he was the only young white man. It would have been really easy for them to shut him down. But each of his classmates had a chance to speak up and so did he.
That was because everyone has a voice. And everyone should feel heard. Not just the people who agree with us.
It isn’t an easy process. If it was we would have been there long ago. But that’s the wonder of carrying God’s light into the world. We are lighting the way not to a world lived our way but his way where there is a space for each of God’s children at the table.
–SueBE
As our government transitions from one president to the next, most of us are praying for peace. I include myself in their number. What I cannot stand behind, however, is the call to “forgive and move on.” To explain, I must bring in my Catholic upbringing. In the sacrament of Reconciliation, two things are required. One: the sinner must recognize that she has sinned and admit her responsibility for wrongdoing. Two: the sinner must resolve not to sin again. Of course, we — sinners all — fail at this repeatedly, but we should at least show a determination to try not to repeat our sins.
I have seen no recognition of sin or resolve not to repeat it from those who dared to rock our democracy to its core. Without these things, there can be no reconciliation. But without reconciliation, how does our country move forward? As Shakespeare might say, “Aye, there’s the rub.”
Take up needles
and begin the slow work
of knitting a country together.
The constituents are disparate,
some soft, new-spun, some
rope that once bound hands,
some silk, some knotted string.
Some of it will bloody our bodies
with barbs. No matter. We will
not still our hands. Each stitch
will be a prayer, each row an invitation
to join the circle. No person is exempt.
Perhaps at first, we will produce a sock,
a scarf, a mitten. Let us aim to weave
a blanket big enough to cover us all.
Begin.
Two men from the basement-waterproofing company arrived to give me an estimate to fix a small leak, walking into my house as if they owned it.
Following me downstairs, they headed into an isolated area of the basement. One said to me, “Come here! Look! You can see cracks in the foundation. Water’s bound to get in here.”
I said, “I know.”
“No, look, you can see it,” he said, gesturing for me to go toward him.
“Yep, I’ve seen it,” I said, staying put.
You’re going to tell me where to stand? In my own house?
He said the leak from my bilco door couldn’t be fixed without addressing the structural issues in the house, to the tune of $4200. When I looked at him blankly behind my mask, he said, “Could you manage $3200?”
“Thanks for your time,” I said and ushered them to the door.
Another time, my son’s friend asked if he and his boss could give me a presentation about insurance. He said, “I’m not trying to sell you anything, just trying to learn how to do a ‘customer spiel’ from my boss.”
Oh. Sure! I was born yesterday, while simultaneously falling off a turnip truck by the Brooklyn Bridge. Why not? Come over to “not” sell me things.
When they arrived, his boss said, “Why don’t we all move over to this table so we can see the presentation better?”
Hackles raised.
“I’m fine over here,” I said.
“Oh, but we could all see what I’ll be talking about…”
“Couch is better for my back.”
“Oh, if it’s a back issue, that’s fine,” he said.
As if he was giving me permission to sit where I wanted. In my own home.
People who try to physically move you in this way are gauging how malleable you are. No matter what they say, everybody is trying to sell you something.
Knowing you’ve got the right to say “no” is the most important life-lesson you’ll ever learn. And remember, you’ve got a rock and a foundation to stand on, so, when push comes to shove, you will not be greatly moved.
Not to make light of the violence that occurred last week in the US capital, but I’d rather ponder esoteric ideas like life in outer space right now. Quite frankly, proving there’s intelligent life here on Earth at the moment might be a challenge.
Science fiction books and movies always portray aliens as monsters, but what if they’re watching us right now, not with nefarious intentions, but kind-hearted curiosity?
A study claims there may be many civilizations in the universe, and I find this fascinating.
What if extraterrestrials are watching you the way you watch those two bluebirds as they flutter around the cherry blossoms in your front yard every morning? Aren’t they magnificent! What will they do next? Pick up a tiny branch? Must be making a nest! Wow! Ain’t nature grand?
What if they’re checking in on you the way you keep an eye on that stray cat who visits your backyard. Does he need food? Where does he sleep? Is he okay? What color is that kitty really — black or brown? He almost seems to have subtle stripes. Look, honey, he might have stripes! Isn’t he a marvel?
Every day, as I look at the headlines, I ponder how strange our new normal has become. At this point, if we had an alien invasion, I might not bat an eyelash. “Aiiight,” I’d say, “just stay in your lane, supply me with coffee and chocolate, and we’ll get along fine.”
Mankind has become desensitized to disaster and demonstrates an utter lack of decorum — even humanity — but one day, civility will return. Empathy will emerge. Compassion will make a comeback.
Until then, hunker down as best you can, and hold on till morning comes. Or at least till the Mother Ship comes to take us away from all this!
Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com
I have to admit, I’ve tried again and again to write a meaningful post about what is happening in the US this week. What is there to say other than the obvious?
We fear change.
People are flawed.
We can be counted on to make bad decisions. Not hourly, God willing, but every now and again we do something astonishingly clueless. This week we’ve seen it all and so many people have commented. Some of the comments have been half-baked. Some have been racist. Others have been just plain . . . what?
And it is oh so tempting to step into it all on social media. I am, after all, a nonfiction writer. I so badly wanted to correct facts. There is a reason one of my friends calls me the Credible Hulk. I always come in with the data, but I’m also sharp-tongued.
Sometimes it is best if I just don’t act. It is better to simply be.
Maybe that’s why we are called human BE-ings. We really do best when we spend a certain amount of time with God in prayerful contemplation. Even if we don’t know what to say, we can spend time simply BE-ing in God’s presence. Basking. Breathing deep.
Eventually, when we are calmer and recharged, we can step back out into the world. And even then? Sometimes it is best to simply BE or, instead of arguing, to go out into the world, carrying His Light, His Love, and His Spirit of Change.
–SueBE
The general consensus seems to be that we’ve kicked 2020 to the curb. Our long, international nightmare is over! But is it? The funny thing about time is that one year tends to spill over into the next year. We still have challenges to face. Old ones. New ones we can’t even foresee. Do we have the stuff to face it? Maybe with a little faith, a little hope and a little grace, we really can begin all over again.
We have swept the mess to the sill.
Still, it sits, casting an accusing eye:
What will you do with me?
It will not be as easy
as clearing the threshold
and shutting the door.
The scent of it lingers,
its obdurate conundrums
persist, twisted as steel
by the side of the road.
Fresh eyes, fresh hearts
are required, new courage
flowing from hope
we didn’t know we had.
Listen to the urgings of your heart.
It is time for a new song,
sung louder, though throats are sore.
Bear up. Lean in.
Call for change
and change will come.
praypower4today 