With all the political turmoil in the country and the whole world, it is easy for me to get lost in hopelessness. In feeling I am not enough – there’s nothing I can do to make a difference. And at the same time, I know that such despair only adds to the despair of the situation. As UUs, I guess we are called to look at “ centering love”. Which sounds superficial and new agey at the same time that I know there is important truth there. The question is how to go about that.
To clear my head the other day, I walked an outdoor labyrinth near me. The usual things came to mind as I held this question. “What is mine to do”. I can keep walking, I can recognize there are lots of turns to navigate. I can notice the beauty all around. I can keep putting one foot in front of the other all the while realizing I am walking in circles. I can pay attention to each step. I can vow not to carry negativity. I can keep walking my path while others are going in different directions.
Nothing profound – but the walk somehow helped me to feel less burdened by the world. And one by one if each of us can lighten our own burden, there is less heaviness out there flying around. There is no solution to the complex world problem – but there are small steps to be taken. The first one is to make sure that I am “centering love” in my own life, in my neighborhood, in my family. To side with love rather than despair is no small thing. It’s our religious duty. And to stick together as we circle through these days, knowing there is no easy path. There is no one right way. There is only attempting to get clearer and clearer on what is MINE to do in this moment.
Here is a story I read about the Dalai Lama that is unattributed. I wish I know who related it. But the truth of it touches me.
At the end of a talk, someone from the audience asked the Dalai Lama, “Why didn’t you fight back against the Chinese?”
The Dalai Lama looked down, swung his feet just a bit, then looked back up at us and said with a gentle smile, “Well, war is obsolete you know.”
Then, after a few moments, his face grave, he said, “Of course the mind can rationalize fighting back … but the heart, the heart would never understand. Then you would be divided in yourself, the heart and the mind, and the war would be inside you.”
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