Fear --> Suffering // Hope and Courage --> Transformation
The last week or so, there’s been some “stuff” swirling around for me personally, as well as spiritual heaviness I have felt for colleagues and friends for what they are dealing with. Additionally, we have had a bunch of grey and dreary mornings in a row, many with a good bit of rain. So, I was so excited to see that the forecast was clear for this morning. Here’s what Scout and I saw at the lake this morning (once again flooded as well)
I wrote my wife and several others with the photo that “sometimes the universe seems to know a beautiful sunrise is needed.” I needed a morning with the bench (even when flooded) of color, energy, and vibrance.
And then a little while later there was this...posted a few weeks ago by
on Substack but showed up in my feed this morning (thanks algorithms!)...Goodness, that gave me a LONG pause as I saw how I have seen that lived out in my life and how I see it happening in the world. How many of the horrible things in history are rooted in the fear that people have within them and the fear that is stoked by others? How much of what we do (consciously or not) is rooted in our own personal fears?
I love that Ms O’Connor doesn’t stop there, however...it isn’t just about pointing at fear “out there” or a judgment on fear but “an invitation to tend” the fear so that it doesn’t move to harm and destruction. What an incredible shift she makes there! How much easier is it to stay with condemnation, shame, and judgment and not move to how transformation can occur?
It got me thinking further about how to also shift this away from fear and harm to hope and courage. What can happen when we live into our amazing capacities for hope and courage (which are so present in humans as well)? What transformation can occur? What miracles can arise? What beauty would be formed?
I love the way that the Jesus stories show him as invitational and not condemning. How he invites people to steps of hope and courage (calling to the woman who wanted to hide after touching Jesus’ cloak, sending his followers out in pairs to the places ahead of him, showing them possibility and promise and not simply law and regulation).
I’m currently reading Jemar Tisby’s book The Spirit of Justice and have been moved daily by the stories of courage and boldness that he lifts up of people over the last 400 years. Each story of women and men being creative and bold about fighting enslavement, racism, hatred, or bigotry is both challenging and encouraging. He shows that when we “tend our fears,” as Ms O’Connor writes, and if we stand in hope and courage, transformation can happen (sometimes in significant ways and sometimes in much smaller ways, but transformation regardless).
To paraphrase and expand on what Ms O’Connor writes...
What if God knows our capacity to be a part of great transformation when we stand with courage and with hope? How is that courage and hope an invitation into tikkun olam, the restoration and healing of the world that God wants to do through us?
Thank you, Lindsay for this profound and beautiful truth.
Grace, Peace, Love, and Joy,
Ed
PS - Calendars are still on sale and might get there for Christmas!
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Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this! Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine being quoted in an article alongside Jemar Tisby, one of my favorite teachers and writing heroes. Thank you!
Thought provoking indeed. Something I should have understood myself but I guess I didn't think about it in this way until I read this. Thanks for sharing. Blessings to you.