Holding Perspective

Friends,

The reality is now clear. We are being subjected to a well-orchestrated, if chaotic, effort to weaken and/or destroy our civil democratic government and the institutions necessary to support it. And sadly, we are also weakening the historic US commitment to provide aid to the wider world and share our country’s substantial bounty and technical expertise with our planetary brothers and sisters. 

I am not going to continue to “harrumph” (an actual dictionary word: "to speak disapprovingly”) about politics, the wars, and all the other concerns and injustices in our world this evening. There are already too many "harrumphers harrumphing," so I will try something else. What really interests me now is how to engage others interested in considering the long view of the dynamics swirling around us at this time. What can help us keep an even intellectual, emotional and spiritual balance as we react to the extraordinary plight before us now and in the foreseeable future?

My first and dominant response is to continue to have faith and trust that a livable future is possible no matter how heartbreaking and laborious it may be. I am a hopeful and faithful person and I will steadfastly maintain that hope if for no other reason that I can pass it on to the next generation with integrity. The world is so much bigger than the contemporary maliciousness of the people and forces that now threaten us. From a historical perspective the sweep of the rise and fall of the world’s great empires is a reminder that no matter how apparently powerful they were, something more powerful - or just moral malaise - undermined them to eventual failure and/or major reconstruction. The murderous wars that often accompanied these transitions are stark reminders of the danger of great change, and I do fear how the current world-wide tensions can be non-violently reconciled. But I do believe the forces of life - call it love, or “The Force More Powerful,” or a God-given compassionate arc of history - will eventually triumph. 

My faith is also reassured as I look out over the majestic Cascade mountains and stare in awe at their eons of resilience. I am reminded that the power of our interdependent life in all its forms is also resilient despite temporary acts of profound harm and destruction. The powerful life source of the earth will persist. 

My second response comes from the lessons of ancient wisdom about the certainty of the cycle of life and death. We need to accept the fact that our nation, and the whole world, is in a period of epochal change. Ancient (and contemporary) wisdom teaches us that we must fully engage in the disruptive process and get through the necessary grieving process of loss and not deny or avoid it. We know from those who have studied grief that there is a predictable cycle of sadness, anger, and eventual acceptance of the reality of the loss of the people and the life we so deeply loved. So in these confusing and often despairing times we need to commit to be present in and through the struggle, grieve and resist as we must, for ourselves and with others with whom we share life’s journey.

Finally, I am learning to respond to the anxiety and fear for our future as a test of my/our communal, personal and national resiliency, and I believe we can meet the test. Most of us have experienced that the best of ourselves and our communities is called forth during crises and disasters. So in spite of all that is so hurtful and despotic now we need to remember that there is also this bedrock of compassion baked into the human spirit that, no matter what, is still available for redemption. In short, I affirm the reality that there is “that of God” (compassion) in each and every one of us, and I believe that as a matter of my deepest truth. And I believe this is the essential teaching in the Jesus narrative as well as all the other major religious practices. 

My reflections tonight don’t answer the specific question that most challenges and often haunts us each day, especially as we listen to the news: What can I do to help respond to the SOS alert of a sinking ship. That question will best be answered by various anti-Trump movements that I have noted in a previous blog and more are available on line. But I think it is also so crucial that we honor our personal and communal capacity for understanding a context of hope in the face of the historical, social and psychological dynamics of threat and inevitable change before us. The long range vision we need to hold is that we can ultimately  gift the next generations with our resilient spirit and a healthy planet.

Peace,
Tom