Monday, June 22, 2020

What's your choice?


Grand Choices
“This breath, and this moment, and this life is a gift and we are all in this together. We all have countless choices everyday to close down or stand up straight and open up and take a big deep breath and say YES to the gift.”
Rob Bell
          When we entered the era of the covid-19 pandemic, we began saying “we are all in this together.” The definition of pandemic makes that so—everywhere in the world, people are experiencing the same thing. But this notion of being “in this together” goes far beyond this disease, or this moment. We are, and have always been, in this together. We breathe the same air, drink the same water. We listen to the wind and the waves and the songs of birds no matter where we are on planet Earth.
          Rob Bell teaches that “if the Gospel is not good news for everybody, it is not good news for anybody”—and that includes people we consider to be radically different from us. In fact, that is an erroneous idea—there is no one who is radically different from us. We are all the same, no matter where on earth we live, who we worship, what color we are, what gifts we have or what sort of skullduggery we get up to. No population on this planet is exempt from both graciousness and maliciousness. We are all in this together.
          We make small choices in every moment, and from time to time, we are called upon to make grand choices. I believe we are at an intersection of grand choices right now—one of those places where “two roads diverge in a yellow wood,” (Robert Frost) and we have an opportunity (and a responsibility) to choose which one we will take. That choice will determine our future—will we continue to be divided and tribal and territorial, or will we recognize that we truly are all in this together and live as brothers and sister. It’s a big decision. This moment, this breath, this collective life is a gift for each of us and for all of us. Breathe deeply and decide how you want to receive the gift.

                                                  In the Spirit,
                                                  Jane

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