Have you ever had a moment where the same idea keeps coming at you from different people, different places, or different structures? It feels not like serendipity, but like a message I need to pay attention to. If I were to name that idea, it would be living my life the way I want the world to be – living a life of love and of justice.
Rabbi Michael Lerner’s book, Revolutionary Love came to me during this time. This book is all about creating Beloved Community. How can we change the narrative of our world so that we face it with love rather than revenge and punishment? The implications of this new approach are truly revolutionary. What if we leaned toward restorative justice instead of incarceration? Treatment instead of punishment? Circling around instead of isolating?
Another thread came from Richard Rohr’s daily meditation. He attempts to answer the question of why someone like Mother Theresa, known for feeding the poor and hungry in Calcutta, did not fight against social injustice? Isn’t caring for the poor and hungry ignoring the larger system causing the harm and poverty? Her response to that query was that if she was constantly correcting others and pointing her finger at them, she “could no longer be an instrument of love and reconciliation for them.” She had to send a message through how she lived her life, not with accusations and arguments.
And so it is that I am trying to point my life toward making radical, transformative change in the world—and finding ways to do so without becoming the oppressor myself. Brené Brown, researcher and author talks about addressing hard subjects with a strong back and soft front, a concept she got from Buddhist teacher Joan Halifax. The idea is to have the courage of a strong back to address challenging things, but to have the love of a soft front – or empathy for the person in front of you. How do I act in a way that dismantles oppression with a strong back that does not make matters worse by stimulating defensive, reactionary responses? How do I confront systems with a soft front? That is a challenging ask. It has to be grounded in love for all in our world. The inherent worth and dignity of everyone. No exceptions.
Circles of Spirit will co-create a community of peer and mentor support for creative spiritual practice on life, self, relationship and community. Circles build a sense of resilience and wholeness in the face of barriers to reentry.