This Day
The wind has subsided, skies are clear, and the temperature is 48 degrees fahrenheit. Today is Thursday.
How are you doing this day?
Now more than ever it is important to remember to notice things like the condition of your body, the beauty of trees and flowers coming into bloom, and the children who have smiles on their faces. We are in a moment of amnesia about the need to embrace today's reality of interconnectedness of all life.
As news stories bring forth the underbelly of what power and money can do to society, every day folks have to remember that there is a way to stay aware of what is happening and to read the conditions that are inviting a new way to bring balance to our lives.
Today, the markets are convulsing and stories of this fact are telling everyday people that the impact will be felt in the cost of food, medicines, clothing, big ticket items for households, and more going up. Basically, the power to make conditions go into such a state is triggering insecurity among us, making it easier to manipulate and control mass behavior. It is a move that could cause people to begin cannibalizing one another. We must be clear-eyed and resist.
In such times, it is critical to be decidedly more generous, more caring, and more loving. If it is true that we believe in love over hate, kindness over cruelty, and fearless compassion over neglect of suffering - then today is the day to begin practicing these things. It is easy to speak these words and believe you are dedicated to these things when conditions are essentially stable. It is quite different to engage and demonstrate these things in times like today.
As people are losing their opportunities to learn in our universities and being disappeared by a lawlessness that has not been seen in this country for generations, it's time to remember that we still have choices. Those choices are about accepting that the world is changing and we are coming closer together with time. Our solutions are interdependent. Our differences need to be turned into an emergent new reality. Our fears need to be met with courage to accept change. And change is the hardest thing for human beings to accept.
Things to remember: We once were a society that said that we welcome the diversity and energy that immigrants bring, and that we want to build communities that enrich our society through sharing customs and traditions of the world. We need to remember that no one ever said diversity was easy. We always knew that there were challenges that came with learning to understand ourselves as connected to "the other", whoever that might be in our lives. Many chose to work bridging the space with leadership training, with writing, with organizing coalitions, and with holding space for processing the natural anxiety that comes with living into anything new. We need to remember these things - especially today.