Fearlessness
“Our
invitation is to look deeper
than we
do,
to intuit
and honor
what so
often lies
beneath a
surface
of denial,
anger and diminishment,
grace
pulsing to break through.”
Edwina
Gateley (Soul Sisters: Women in Scripture Speaking to Women Today)
The Buddhist monk Chogyam
Trungpa wrote: “Real fearlessness is the product of tenderness.”
Edwina Gateley, quoted above, is a theologian, writer and teacher who
has the courage to live her convictions. For instance, she spent more
than a year on the streets of Chicago walking with homeless people
and prostitutes, and then established Genesis House, a ministry of
hospitality and nurturing for prostitutes. The rest of Chogyam
Trungpa's quote reads: “It comes from letting the world tickle
your heart, your raw and beautiful heart. You are willing to open up,
without resistance or shyness, and face the world. You are willing to
share your heart with others” (Shambala: The Sacred Path of the
Warrior). Certainly, Edwina Gateley has the courage to do that.
But here's the deal—most
of us don't have the freedom or the chutzpah to walk the streets with
prostitutes and homeless people, and then establish shelters for
them. We can marvel at Gateley's and other people's great and worthy
works, and wish we were more like them. We can give money or
volunteer time to support such enterprises, and that is essential. It
doesn't mean that the people who do such major tasks are somehow
greater in the eyes of God and community than we are. Each of us has
our contribution to make. In the words of Edwina Gateley, “...each
one of us, no matter how small, has a unique task in co-creation, a
unique contribution to make to the world and to humanity.”
I know some ladies, for
instance, who make baby quilts for preemies in the Neonatal Intensive
Care Units; others who make knitted caps and creative headgear for
people undergoing chemotherapy. There are folks in many faith
communities and civic groups who collect food to distribute to people
in need. Others tutor children living in poverty. About this time
every year, the Marine Corps League begins its Toys for Tots drive.
There is no shortage of needs to be filled. If we want to contribute
to our fellow human beings, we can find a way to do that on a scale
and in a manner that is suited to our means and circumstances.
The harder task is to
love the people we choose to serve—to be able to look into their
eyes with love and respect, and honor their humanity as much as we
honor our own. Giver and receiver are equal partners and may even
switch places at some point. Operating from the soul, opening our
tender, beating hearts to another, especially to a stranger, is a
courageous act no matter how large or small. Therein lie the seeds of
grace which may burst forth into full bloom.
In the Spirit,
Jane
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