Pray for Peace

Clare,

So what do we do with the pain?
This is where our choices really matter.
We can sit in it, burdened by the pain
We can fight back, retaliation to make us feel mightier.
We can work towards understanding- "Why do they hate us?"
I like that…
ask the tough questions…
share some of the responsibility…
maybe not personally, but culturally.
What is it about humans that forces us to create "us and them" stories to make sense of nonsense?
People are raising their voices to not open the US borders to Middle Eastern refugees…
particularly Syrians…
France is bombing Syria…
collateral damage means traumatized Syrians, left in their cities, are being retraumatized.
I heard an NPR reporter today say that it will take another refugee tragedy to swing hearts back to acceptance rather than vengeance. The dead, four-year-old boy's image has been displaced by the carnage of Paris.
Close the borders…
Keep foreigners out…
Protect at all costs.

Where is the humanity?
When do we look into the eyes of those in need?
We avoid it because we don't want to see our own vulnerability.
Brene Brown wrote a chapter on looking away from the homeless…
struggling with the discomfort…
and concluded it stemmed from her own discomfort of ever needing help.
Our rugged independence is going to be the death of this country.
We will die separately…
but maintain our independence throughout the journey…
a lonely, sad demise.

I had inspiration for a name for my new idea…
instead of healing hearts- because that is a passive process, come here and we'll heal you…
I like Integrate- Discovering wholeness.
It's active, engaged, making a statement of mission.
I spoke to two friends, my yoga teacher and a dancer friend…
I explained the concept and they loved it.
I bought them the book so we are all speaking the same language…
starting from a similar place.
I like the idea of a non-profit so that we can offer services to whoever asks. I'll have to start reading the funding notifications that come to my email more closely.

I wanted to share this song with you. You probably saw it when I shared it on social media, but here it is again. I love it. I may sing it for the Christmas program.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A29S6cn0nig

Love and Light beautiful sister,
Maggie