Two
Miles
“If you
feel like you don't fit into the world you inherited, it is because
you were born to help create a new one.”
Ross
Caligiuri (Dreaming in the Shadows)
I watched a video this
morning of people talking about the Wild Goose Festival which will be
held in Hot Springs, North Carolina next month. This annual festival
brings together artists, writers, musicians, faith leaders and those
actively engaged in service for several days of interaction. Two of
the presenters, Brian McLaren and Julian DeShazier, were talking
together about what the festival means to them and what keeps them
coming back. Two things they said struck me deeply: (1) Empathy can
change the world, and (2) This is a place where all the parts of me
can come together and feel safe and accepted. In these days of deeply
polarized factions, it is good to know there is a place and a group
of people who are creating safe space—physically and emotionally.
Polarization has it's
uses; sometimes we need to swing to one end of the spectrum, but at
some point we need to swing back toward the middle, bringing with us
the lessons we've learned. Momentum sits now at the pole of division,
and the time for swinging back toward unification has come. What we
need now are people with the courage to stand in that breech and say
to all who will listen that they will no longer be part of the
divisiveness. We need every single human being who believes that the
pole of division is no longer a good place to be, to stand up and
speak out. And more than that, to live in unity. We must learn empathy for
one another if we are to patch the world back together.
I read a great quote this
morning by Ross Caligiuri from Dreaming in the Shadows. It
said: “To completely understand me, you must first accept that I
am not you.” Empathy for our differences—putting our feet in
the shoes of another and walking that extra mile—is what will
change the world.
In the Spirit,
Jane
1 comment:
Beautifully said :)
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