Out beyond ideas of...

Wrongdoing and Rightdoing

“Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing

there is a field.

I'll meet you there.

When the soul lies down in that grass,

the world is too full to talk about.”

                              Rumi (translated by Coleman Barks)

I have always loved this quote from that long-ago Sufi poet, Rumi. We live in a world that likes to quickly assign blame when anything goes askew. We shift into overdrive with accusations and counter accusations—it seems to be our favorite sport. We have not moved past Hammurabi in many ways—we still believe in an eye for an eye. We want revenge. Then they want revenge. And so it goes.

It seems that even in cases of natural disaster we carefully sift through the wreckage, first for survivors, then for clues so that we may assign blame for the faulty wiring, the poor construction, the too-late warning. We have little time to mourn, because it's critically important to discover who's at fault, and hold them accountable. We want answers.

Parents whose children died are heartbroken—there is little solace for them in blame. People who are maimed, whose lives are ever changed, need time to adjust, to understand what has happened and how they will cope. Those who witnessed carnage require time to heal; the images will be fresh in their minds forever. We all need to put wrongdoing and right-doing aside for the moment and instead, tend to our losses. Our souls, whether we are American, Chinese, Afghan or Iraqi, Christian, Muslim or Taoist, need to lie down in the grass where the world is too full to talk about. There will be time later for assigning responsibility, exacting punishment. Let the angry rhetoric quiet for just a little while. Let us find peace within ourselves and with one another.

                                                   In the spirit,

                                                       Jane