Thanks, Krista. I suggested this past week that we replace the fist sign with the Peace sign. Instead of the raised, clenched fist, we raise our hands with the familiar V created with two open fingers.
"My take on where we are and a way forward:
When the wild accusations and heated rhetoric cool down (if they do), people need to remember the violence of January 6, 2021. Part of the culture of the U.S. is one of violence - assassinations are nothing new, mass shootings have been "normalized" and hateful behaviors are commonplace. The other side is that there are still people who are kind, compassionate and caring who abhor violence and who continue to work for justice and peace. It's possible to love your neighbor even if you disagree, but how about some civility and decency? Violent behaviors and hateful comments come from a place of unresolved anger and fear. Until or unless we address the causes of the disease, treating the symptoms will not make it go away. A commitment to non-violent, peaceful protests has potential for a new beginning, but it will not be easy to change the minds and reach the hearts of those who feel disenfranchised. This will take more than thoughts and prayers and those are welcome into the conversations going forward. Rather than a fist for a symbol, how about a different sign, one for peace? Is that possible?
Great response, spot on. Thich KNEW the dangers of promoting justice/love in the midst of hatred and anger. His visit to the USA to meet and talk with Dr Martin Luther King Jr in 1966 was filled with courage in the teeth of America's War machine in Vietnam. Often these DOERS of peace do not live long. Thich is a very rare exception of seeing old age. Thereby there is no such thing as love without justice and justice without love. They are one in the same.
Thanks, Brad. When I met with MLK, Jr in 1968, 3 weeks prior to his assassination, I was singularly impressed such that my life and my work changed dramatically and went in a different direction. I shifted my career significantly and my work for the next 50+ years was focused on helping people of all ages to learn, grow and change. If we want peace, we have to work for justice. Without justice there can be no peace.
Was treating Jacob Blake like a martyred hero "justice"? He raped the mother of his children in front of her 4 year old child, then kidnapped her other children and pulled a knife on a cop trying to rescue those children.
Kamala Harris called Jacob Blake a "hero", but in my mind, the cop who shot him was the hero.
As a survivor of violent crime, I care passionately about victims of violence and cannot vote for a party that glosses over the brutality that's perpetuated by people who value the "rights" of violent predators over the right of vulnerable people to live in safety and freedom.
There is nothing "loving" about wanting to defund the police or abolish prisons.
There was nothing "loving" about Kamala Harris promoting a bail fund for prisoners, one of whom ended up committing murder when he got out.
There was nothing "loving" about the Portland Freedom Fund bailing out a man who, when they bailed him out, immediately murdered Racheal Abraham, a mother of six, who was trying to escape his violence by having him arrested.
We have to be very careful about assuming we know what "justice" and "peace" look like.
It reads as if you believe that one side has anger & hate & one love & justice. How can this be? I am a registered democrat & was a big Bernie supporter, and it’s been devastating to see there is barely any love & justice or truth on that side. Maybe we need to begin with definitions again. Even words like protect and democracy. For the dems certainly are not protecting democracy. That’s laughable. Clearly there are great divides between all of us, which suggests to me that doubt must come into play more & more since we all get righteous in our certainties.
Thanks, Boon. I appreciate your response and will add that it's not what is said that counts as much as what one is willing to do after all has been said.
If you truly want to be a voice for peace, you need to remember that "both sides" is the only just way to view these conflicts. Like Jan. 6, there was horrific violence in the BLM riots of 2020, but the intelligentsia (who may not be all that intelligent) decided that this violence was "good" and that the lives lost didn't matter so much because the people who died were poor and working class "nobodies" like Corey Comperatore, a Trump supporter who died shielding his children from an assassin's bullets.
There is nothing loving or peaceful about seeking to change someone else's mind. It is an act of aggression and dehumanization.
Seek to change your own mind about the "other side." Then share with them how you have changed, and that you no longer view them as "less than".
Thanks, Penny. I am one who prefers non-violent solutions to conflicts and I suppose I was even called a "peacenik" in the 60's. I was called a lot of things, many of which were derogatory and degrading. I align myself with this sentiment from MLK, Jr. "I have decided to stick with Love. Hate is too great a burden to bear." He also died from an assassin's bullet. No one can change anyone else's mind, that is up to each person to decide where to stand, what to say and what to do. We still have that freedom of choice and voice. To be clear, no one, not one person, is less than another. It's why someone wrote "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed, by their Creator, with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness."
I believe I know what peace is, what it looks like, what it feels like. I also know, from having lived through WWII, as well as the anger, flames and violence of the 60's and how that changed my perspective, my life and my work. It is far from simple and perhaps among the most difficult positions to hold in the face of so much and so many conflicts born out of unresolved fear and anger.
When you are safe, peace is an extremely easy position to hold. As an example, I think of the Israeli people, who have been demonized for daring to defend themselves from a very real genocidal threat on their doorstep.
To see extremely privileged Ivy League students on their lush college campuses protesting against the right of people whose existence has been threatened for millennia to defend themselves would be funny if it weren't so tone deaf and cruel.
Sometimes it's violent to call for non-violence. Sometimes it's cruel to demand "peace". Life is complicated.
Yes, life and much that comes along with it, is complicated. No easy, quick solutions and no one I know can "demand" someone to take a position except those in positions of authoritarian control and that is dangerous as we have seen repeatedly. Also the reason for so much suffering and pain. Thanks for sharing.
This practice reminds me of “soft belly meditation,” which I learned from Vinny Ferraro during a workshop hosted by Spirit Rock, in which we invite our bellies, often the holder of tension, anger and anxiety, to soften so that we may be open to whatever we are defended against. Because once we are open, we can begin to work with whatever we had aversion to.
Good morning Krista - Well, maybe a better morning after reading your words. Your writing always demands my full presence and, if I manage that, you always reward me with a thoughtfulness that heals some part of my being. There are so few things that provide that healing today, I must thank you. You matter in a world that is terribly confused about what matters and what destroys.
Would we be able to do this all with our own fists ... and re-member, become a member again, of the love, spirit and soul we are. Our divinity present in our own bodies... to embrace our humanity and respect the one of others ...
Maybe the world happenings are inviting us to do so in our own lives, to guide us to a deeper sense and awareness of life, of love, inviting others to do so when they are ready to and open for change ...
I am currently on a retreat & last evening before retiring the practice of the clenched fist was given for a practice & suggested to practice. This morning upon awakening I read your post. So thank you for the reminder & your wisdom.
It does work😀. Letting be, letting go, letting come.
Ah, Thay and Merton, a’ Kempis and Lawrence too. Blessed monks, their “manuals” and letters…Nouwen as well as I’m thinking of them. So much good going in that we don’t see…in that we need the contemplative life to remind and encourage us, to partner in making all things new.
Dear Krista, are you still in or near Plum Village? I am here as a volunteer and am a dedicated listener. It would be so wonderful to meet you over tea. Sending you warmth, Alexandra
thanks Krista. First, I love your hair and am always curious as to how it keeps its shape. Unimportant these days but it does cross my mind. Seriously, your words in print this time had such a calming effect on me (or is it affect?) I've often wanted to visit Plum Village but my traveling days are over. So proud that you are headquartered in MN. Much gratitude for your work. A
Such beautiful and necessary words. ❤️ I just wrote something with a similar message. Thank you for putting these healing words out there. If only we had political leaders who could speak this kind of healing truth.
While doing this "healing" work, please remember there are millions of people who don't have the luxury of detaching from the pain of the material world.
My concern about the type of spirituality promoted by the academic/professional class is that it is so "spiritual" that it is of no earthly good.
If you aren't feeding, housing, and protecting people, you aren't really doing much of anything.
Thanks, Krista. I suggested this past week that we replace the fist sign with the Peace sign. Instead of the raised, clenched fist, we raise our hands with the familiar V created with two open fingers.
"My take on where we are and a way forward:
When the wild accusations and heated rhetoric cool down (if they do), people need to remember the violence of January 6, 2021. Part of the culture of the U.S. is one of violence - assassinations are nothing new, mass shootings have been "normalized" and hateful behaviors are commonplace. The other side is that there are still people who are kind, compassionate and caring who abhor violence and who continue to work for justice and peace. It's possible to love your neighbor even if you disagree, but how about some civility and decency? Violent behaviors and hateful comments come from a place of unresolved anger and fear. Until or unless we address the causes of the disease, treating the symptoms will not make it go away. A commitment to non-violent, peaceful protests has potential for a new beginning, but it will not be easy to change the minds and reach the hearts of those who feel disenfranchised. This will take more than thoughts and prayers and those are welcome into the conversations going forward. Rather than a fist for a symbol, how about a different sign, one for peace? Is that possible?
Great response, spot on. Thich KNEW the dangers of promoting justice/love in the midst of hatred and anger. His visit to the USA to meet and talk with Dr Martin Luther King Jr in 1966 was filled with courage in the teeth of America's War machine in Vietnam. Often these DOERS of peace do not live long. Thich is a very rare exception of seeing old age. Thereby there is no such thing as love without justice and justice without love. They are one in the same.
Thanks, Brad. When I met with MLK, Jr in 1968, 3 weeks prior to his assassination, I was singularly impressed such that my life and my work changed dramatically and went in a different direction. I shifted my career significantly and my work for the next 50+ years was focused on helping people of all ages to learn, grow and change. If we want peace, we have to work for justice. Without justice there can be no peace.
How you define "justice" Gary?
Was treating Jacob Blake like a martyred hero "justice"? He raped the mother of his children in front of her 4 year old child, then kidnapped her other children and pulled a knife on a cop trying to rescue those children.
Kamala Harris called Jacob Blake a "hero", but in my mind, the cop who shot him was the hero.
As a survivor of violent crime, I care passionately about victims of violence and cannot vote for a party that glosses over the brutality that's perpetuated by people who value the "rights" of violent predators over the right of vulnerable people to live in safety and freedom.
There is nothing "loving" about wanting to defund the police or abolish prisons.
There was nothing "loving" about Kamala Harris promoting a bail fund for prisoners, one of whom ended up committing murder when he got out.
There was nothing "loving" about the Portland Freedom Fund bailing out a man who, when they bailed him out, immediately murdered Racheal Abraham, a mother of six, who was trying to escape his violence by having him arrested.
We have to be very careful about assuming we know what "justice" and "peace" look like.
We might be dangerously wrong.
It reads as if you believe that one side has anger & hate & one love & justice. How can this be? I am a registered democrat & was a big Bernie supporter, and it’s been devastating to see there is barely any love & justice or truth on that side. Maybe we need to begin with definitions again. Even words like protect and democracy. For the dems certainly are not protecting democracy. That’s laughable. Clearly there are great divides between all of us, which suggests to me that doubt must come into play more & more since we all get righteous in our certainties.
This is a reply to the commenter not the post
Totally agree. And well said!
Thanks, Boon. I appreciate your response and will add that it's not what is said that counts as much as what one is willing to do after all has been said.
If you truly want to be a voice for peace, you need to remember that "both sides" is the only just way to view these conflicts. Like Jan. 6, there was horrific violence in the BLM riots of 2020, but the intelligentsia (who may not be all that intelligent) decided that this violence was "good" and that the lives lost didn't matter so much because the people who died were poor and working class "nobodies" like Corey Comperatore, a Trump supporter who died shielding his children from an assassin's bullets.
There is nothing loving or peaceful about seeking to change someone else's mind. It is an act of aggression and dehumanization.
Seek to change your own mind about the "other side." Then share with them how you have changed, and that you no longer view them as "less than".
Thanks, Penny. I am one who prefers non-violent solutions to conflicts and I suppose I was even called a "peacenik" in the 60's. I was called a lot of things, many of which were derogatory and degrading. I align myself with this sentiment from MLK, Jr. "I have decided to stick with Love. Hate is too great a burden to bear." He also died from an assassin's bullet. No one can change anyone else's mind, that is up to each person to decide where to stand, what to say and what to do. We still have that freedom of choice and voice. To be clear, no one, not one person, is less than another. It's why someone wrote "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed, by their Creator, with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness."
I also prefer non-violent solutions. My challenge to you is, are you sure you know what a non-violent solution is?
It may not be as simple as you assume. Pacifism can actually enable and enflame violence.
I believe I know what peace is, what it looks like, what it feels like. I also know, from having lived through WWII, as well as the anger, flames and violence of the 60's and how that changed my perspective, my life and my work. It is far from simple and perhaps among the most difficult positions to hold in the face of so much and so many conflicts born out of unresolved fear and anger.
When you are safe, peace is an extremely easy position to hold. As an example, I think of the Israeli people, who have been demonized for daring to defend themselves from a very real genocidal threat on their doorstep.
To see extremely privileged Ivy League students on their lush college campuses protesting against the right of people whose existence has been threatened for millennia to defend themselves would be funny if it weren't so tone deaf and cruel.
Sometimes it's violent to call for non-violence. Sometimes it's cruel to demand "peace". Life is complicated.
Yes, life and much that comes along with it, is complicated. No easy, quick solutions and no one I know can "demand" someone to take a position except those in positions of authoritarian control and that is dangerous as we have seen repeatedly. Also the reason for so much suffering and pain. Thanks for sharing.
This practice reminds me of “soft belly meditation,” which I learned from Vinny Ferraro during a workshop hosted by Spirit Rock, in which we invite our bellies, often the holder of tension, anger and anxiety, to soften so that we may be open to whatever we are defended against. Because once we are open, we can begin to work with whatever we had aversion to.
Good morning Krista - Well, maybe a better morning after reading your words. Your writing always demands my full presence and, if I manage that, you always reward me with a thoughtfulness that heals some part of my being. There are so few things that provide that healing today, I must thank you. You matter in a world that is terribly confused about what matters and what destroys.
Krista so beautifully expressed. The fist exercise is so powerful and true. Thanks for sharing it.
Peace to you. And may you experience kindness today. Giving and receiving
Love to you 🌺
Would we be able to do this all with our own fists ... and re-member, become a member again, of the love, spirit and soul we are. Our divinity present in our own bodies... to embrace our humanity and respect the one of others ...
Maybe the world happenings are inviting us to do so in our own lives, to guide us to a deeper sense and awareness of life, of love, inviting others to do so when they are ready to and open for change ...
Beautiful. We need less clenching and more opening
Wendy
I am currently on a retreat & last evening before retiring the practice of the clenched fist was given for a practice & suggested to practice. This morning upon awakening I read your post. So thank you for the reminder & your wisdom.
It does work😀. Letting be, letting go, letting come.
Ah, Thay and Merton, a’ Kempis and Lawrence too. Blessed monks, their “manuals” and letters…Nouwen as well as I’m thinking of them. So much good going in that we don’t see…in that we need the contemplative life to remind and encourage us, to partner in making all things new.
To each a call
The heart knows well
Always a going in
And a going out
}:- a.m. “en Christo”
I needed to hear this. Thank you!
Dear Krista, are you still in or near Plum Village? I am here as a volunteer and am a dedicated listener. It would be so wonderful to meet you over tea. Sending you warmth, Alexandra
thanks Krista. First, I love your hair and am always curious as to how it keeps its shape. Unimportant these days but it does cross my mind. Seriously, your words in print this time had such a calming effect on me (or is it affect?) I've often wanted to visit Plum Village but my traveling days are over. So proud that you are headquartered in MN. Much gratitude for your work. A
I’m currently on retreat and had a strong resonance last night as I walked the labyrinth to soften fear. Will share this practice today. Thank you.
Such beautiful and necessary words. ❤️ I just wrote something with a similar message. Thank you for putting these healing words out there. If only we had political leaders who could speak this kind of healing truth.
I also wrote something similar in spirit recently. 💜 https://open.substack.com/pub/courtneywolstoncroft/p/we-can-be-right-or-we-can-be-connected?r=3728m&utm_medium=ios
Thank you
Soften, allow, be. ❤️
While doing this "healing" work, please remember there are millions of people who don't have the luxury of detaching from the pain of the material world.
My concern about the type of spirituality promoted by the academic/professional class is that it is so "spiritual" that it is of no earthly good.
If you aren't feeding, housing, and protecting people, you aren't really doing much of anything.