Sunday, January 29, 2012
Note to Self: A Gentle Reminder
A few weeks ago I was given this link by a former student who is very aware of the ache of our times. And, who is a gentle reminder of the beauty that can be discovered in our world of suffering. Some people just have this effect and his sensitivity and concern continues to touch my heart. It is so easy to become lost in despair as we turn on the news, read the paper or listen to the chaotic ring of many of our environments. The temptation of giving-up or selling-out to what is vogue is consistent. So often I find myself opting for the choice, of making no choice, when faced with the challenge of denying my own connection to various forms of materialism. This can be a drag and lead me away from my commitment toward healing myself and the world (of course I usually do not word it like that because it's overwhelming...yet that is the reality). In this moment the quest for hope is needed in a big way. Every time I deny that reality and allow myself to be persuaded otherwise through my little compulsions and avoidances I am move farther away from liberation, for myself and others. We live our lives for all beings, and yet it is easy to forget this simple reality. The world aches for our compassion and love in numerous ways and listening to this plea from Charlie Chaplin, one of the greatest clowns of the 20th C., speaks to me. How did I live my life today to accommodate a better world? This is the question I am left with tonight.
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A gentle reminder is not just a slight nudge to listen to what's happening in the world around me, the world within me, and the world that daily moves into what is happening globally. I find myself overwhelmed by the many issues that need to change me and make me more compassionate. If I don't listen, nothing changes; if I don't act, nothing changes. If I ignore and keep on in my own comfortable existence, I am not following the Mission that is why I am who I am. I reflect on the people along the border, who look to a country that might have answers of a better life and we don't because and I truly believe Ghandi expressed it so well: I love your Christ; I hate you Christians because you don't live what your Christ called you to (paraphrased). Should I not be challenged by the words of Ghandi and the words of Charlie Chaplin? Should I not be chaallenged by the words of migrants of the global community? Thank you, Vicki, for constantly bringing me to those challenging words.
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