How can I serve? A path of spiritual activism
Each person has inside a basic decency and goodness. If he listens to it and acts on it, he is giving a great deal of what it is the world needs most. It is not complicated but it takes courage. It takes courage for a person to listen to his own goodness and act on it.
If you are coming to help me, you are wasting your time. But if you are coming because your liberation is bound up with mine, then let us work together.
When I despair, I remember that all through history the way of truth and love has always won. There have been tyrants and murderers and for a time they seem invincible but in the end, they always fall—think of it, always.
Around three decades ago I traveled from Tennessee to Washington, D.C. to join a protest against the war in Vietnam. My housing had been pre-arranged; the group I was traveling with would be staying with a family of Quakers. The weather that weekend in November tested our resolve: bone-chilling temperatures and a strong wind out of the north. Nonetheless, we marched, we sang; half a million strong, we came together confidently in common cause.
Late on the final day of the weekend, my brother-in-law, Johnny, and I found ourselves in a group of agitators at the Justice Department. I was caught up in the excitement of the moment—until the D.C. police started discharging tear gas canisters into the crowd. We beat a hasty retreat, and as I sat excitedly recounting the tale of the confrontation, I noticed a troubled glance from the elderly man whose hospitality we were enjoying, not disapproving, but gravely concerned. Years later I would remember that expression as I read the words of Marianne Williamson: “I am of a generation which thought that we could bring peace to the world, and we didn’t think it mattered if we ourselves were angry. What we learned is that an angry generation cannot bring peace.”
An earlier essay on the meaning of patriotism generated a number of responses, all but a couple supportive. Many of these readers said that, while they were heartened by my words, they still wondered how to move into action. Today I share my thoughts on that.
First of all, pay attention to what’s going on in your community and in the world. Don’t try to hide from or close yourself off to the horrors that are taking place. When you see the starving children with bloated bellies feel the hurt, feel the anguish, feel the anger. And use your feelings as a wake-up call to action.
To discern what to do, quiet the chatter in your mind through meditation, prayer, contemplation, or a hike in the woods. Then listen. Each of us has a gift to offer the world, and we become aware of how we might offer that gift when we get in touch with our inner voice. Perhaps you’ve always wanted to write a letter to your local newspaper, but your mind’s internal editor constantly heads you off at the pass. Ignore your editor and write it anyway.
To make a difference in the world, become, as Gandhi says, the change you want to see. If you want a peaceful world, explore inwardly and find that peaceful part of yourself. Then rather than taking your anger and resentment out on your coworker for something he did or didn’t do, find a way to forgive . . . him and yourself.
Since we are all in this together, there really is no “enemy.” We all want to love and be loved. Any action that is not loving, any action that is fear-based—abusive language, intolerant behavior, a violent act—is a cry for love, whether it’s coming from George W. Bush or Saddam Hussein.
Service to others can present the next step on our spiritual or psychological path. If, for example, you offer a basket of food to a destitute family in a condescending manner, your gift might feed the flesh, but not the spirit—theirs or yours. And if you become conscious of this you get an opportunity to understand the importance of humility and how your well-being is inextricably intertwined with those whom you might serve.
We do make a difference—individually and as a group. In fact, every loving thought, every prayer, every compassionate action has a significant effect on the world we live in and the fabric of our existence. We might be moved to handle our own demons—the judgments, anger, and negative beliefs that do not serve us. We might be moved to listen to and hold a friend who is hurting. We might be moved to serve a meal at the local homeless shelter or build a house with Habitat for Humanity. We might be moved to put our freedom on the line by protesting at the School of the Americas. Ultimately we might be moved to gather in thousands, millions to say, “No more!”
Being human, we sometimes lose our way, forgetting who we are and what we are called to do. At such times we might doubt our purpose and even become hopeless. When I am in such a place, I frequently turn to a marvelous touchstone, a quote by Frederick Buechner: “The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet.”
Find this place for yourself and your next step will become clear.
Saturday, July 20th, 2002No Comments »
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