Sanctuary, Rest, Then Sail On...Sail On...

 EARTH ... COURAGE ... CALM ABIDING...

EARTH: Today seems wise for a mental health day, so I'm packing up a light lunch for a drive into the wide blue sky, (climate-changing)-summer-breezes, and some unplugged time with my feet on the Earth and my heart dog, Nala, as co-pilot. I've learned so much about all the Work ahead, even as I will continue to 'surrender to surprise' in the days to come...

COURAGE comes from the most unexpected places, even so. I know who Leonard Cohen is (was), though I'm not an avid fan, by any means. So imagine my surprise when I was led to his song, Democracy, three separate sources. It's a good 5 minutes' gift to yourself today, if you create space for it. It's honest, brilliant, irrepressible...just what I needed today.

CALM ABIDING... I'm aware of a deep belly grief and even horror at being White in America today...but I am also much clearer that anyone who is surprised at the lack of Blue Wave, the lack of moral repudiation has similar work to do as I do, as White voters in the USA have to do. For myself, for integrity's sake, I will continue to allow it all to arise in my cells and tear ducts..."keeping my heart open in a fundamental way."

Just as GK Chesteron quipped decades ago about Christianity, so Cohen reminds us about Democracy. Chesteron wrote “The Christian ideal has not been tried and found wanting. It has been found difficult and left untried.” Christianity is broken today, unless within communities of color (an intentionally wide generalization that can be cherry-picked with examples of communities of color enthralled with prosperity gospel and more...but I'm leavin' the statement to stand for its discomforting condemnation of the White Protestant America I belong to...) . I don't know what to do with that as a seminary professor, but I'm listening.  

And Cohen croons...a middle verse that reminds us one and all...Democracy

It's coming to America first

The cradle of the best and of the worst

It's here they got the range

And the machinery for change

And it's here they got the spiritual thirst

It's here the family's broken

And it's here the lonely say

That the heart has got to open

In a fundamental way

Democracy is coming to the USA

So listen to the YouTube gift of the song, all the way through...as many times as required to get back at it, listening to the voices you don't want to hear, and our damning heritage alongside the brilliant ideals of the USofA. 

[And a powerful essay for us to read in Ohio...why DO white people in MidAmerica vote against things that nearly every other modern society values as civilization and humane treatment of one another? Hmmmm....

https://eand.co/americas-problem-is-that-white-people-want-it-to-be-a-failed-state-bac24202f32f]