Monday, November 20, 2017

Good people turn to love, courage and kindness in times of crisis, not hate, fear and cruelty.

~ Laurence Overmire

In light of heartache as a result of something I heard yesterday I consider my words.  I tap out a few sentences, then pause—backspace. Try again. Whatever thoughts spill out through my fingers seem trite in terms of the dysfunction. So I stop.

It’s not my story to tell; It’s not my grief to carry but carry it I will for a time nonetheless.

I consider the future in light of the past and the first sentence in  M. Scott Peck’s life-altering book, The Road Less Traveled, comes to mind: Life is difficult. Yes, it is—for all of us to some degree—but we get to choose how we walk through it.

Choose wisely, I would say to those ghosts of the past. There are consequences to how you spend your days. Don’t self-medicate with things that bring momentary and fleeting comfort but leave a lifetime-and-beyond of fallout. Don’t perpetuate your pain.

And to those in the present who bear wounds from the past: choose to lean in to the pain. The worst thing would be to treat it with an anesthetic that masks the festering wound underneath. Wash it and expose it to the light. Feel it, weep and wail because of it, then release it, and allow the space that’s left to be filled with love. Hold fast to the vision you have for something different. Keep walking away and walking toward: better not bitter.

Whispers of the future, remember. Mistakes were made, paths were taken, and all of it comes together in you. You carry the burdens but also the gifts. Live with your heart and hands wide open. Be generous. Walk with grace and integrity. Make a difference.

And on and on, again and again, in grace and with love. This is how change comes.