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Issues |
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Oh, how sad… Then, as a slap in the face came a thought as a voice from completely outside myself, “Johanna. Don’t be sad. Everyone is sad. Sadness without Conviction is meaningless. And Conviction without Action is nothing. DO SOMETHING.” Startled, I turned in my chair and was confronted by a quote hanging on my bulletin board that I’d clearly never given full life to. “Remember those in prison as if you were their fellow prisoners, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering.” – Hebrews 13:3 As if I am in prison… as if I am the one suffering… What would that look like? It is true, I reasoned: surely, no one reads these news articles and feels good about them. Sadness, Outrage, Disgust are all probably common reactions. And for what? Without Conviction? Without Action? With all the energy of feelings, to where have we arrived? When our eyes are open, it is endless -- this spewing of horror stories from the media. Some of us have consciously turned away from these things. Turned off the world’s stories in exchange for clippings of untainted resorts and sips of Zen tea from Starbucks. After all, we don’t want to feed ourselves negativity. I understand, I went through such times myself. But what a luxury! Such privileged lives, to be able to turn off the world’s cries in order to create a gesture of inner peace. What a thing it would be, to find and walk in a genuine Peace. Peace for which we don’t need to delude ourselves about reality in order to believe. A redefined inner Peace where we walk alongside one another in struggle and are willing to extend ourselves to be hands of action, hearts of conviction – rather than sadness, apathy, delusion. A peace of heart that includes sharing suffering – as if WE are fellow prisoners. As if WE are suffering. What would that look like? |