From the journal…

Had a conversation this morning about the need for places of ‘being’ these days…Places of hope, where that can be found or expressed for the good of a larger whole. Otherwise, places to simply lay down the burden carried, the concerns, the anger…And what to offer so that the Centre might be one of those places for others. Part of the conversation was also about the choices we make about how we make our way through. Do I choose “awareness” over inundation/saturation? Am I consciously choosing some way of being that believes in an alternative to the rage, anger, negativity? Am I making that choice for my own self and well-being and also for the sake of being able to offer that to others in some way?

As we spoke, it occurred to me that how we do that, the ease or familiarity with which we make that choice—to believe it important to be aware of the anger/rage and still to believe in something beyond that, which finds its footing in Love—might have something to do with what and how we have lived up until now. Is this the first time I have ‘chosen to choose Love’ so consciously? For many, I’m guessing not. These circumstances in which we as a world community find ourselves are wildly ‘other…’ The circumstances are unlike anything I have known in my lifetime—that began with the end of the Vietnam War, made its way through air raid drills in elementary school, the energy crisis, the Cold War, the AIDS crisis, the Gulf Wars, 9/11, a major recession, a global pandemic… Things do feel more immediate and precipitous, more dire, now…And yet, life has consistently offered the opportunity to choose. It feels important to not forget that.

It is necessary to be aware and engaged, and it is necessary for me to choose Love. Otherwise, rage and anger gain the upper hand and I ask myself, has that ever served me well in the long run? Has it helped me serve others? There’s a lot to Be Angry about these days…It’s about walking with that truth as well as the truth of Love. Otherwise, I lose my ability to empathize; to walk with; be in solidarity with; to imagine and recognize the generative colours, textures, flavours, rhythms, of a Love that is beyond what I can hope or imagine….

Thanks be to God for such a saving Love.