Our first task is to befriend death. I like that expression “to befriend.” I first heard it used by Jungian analyst James Hillman when he attended a seminar I taught on Christian Spirituality at Yale Divinity School. He emphasized the importance of “befriending”: befriending your dreams, befriending your shadow, befriending your unconscious. He made it convincingly clear that in order to become full human beings, we have to claim the totality of our experience; we come to maturity by integrating not only the light but also the dark side of our story into our selfhood. That made a lot of sense to me, since I am quite familiar with my own inclination, and that of others, to avoid, deny, or suppress the painful side of life, a tendency that always leads to physical, mental, or spiritual disaster. . . .
I have a deep sense, hard to articulate, that if we could really befriend death we would be free people. So many of our doubts and hesitations, ambivalences and insecurities are bound up with our deep-seated fear of death that our lives would be significantly different if we could relate to death as a familiar guest instead of as a threatening stranger.
“We can’t restructure our society without restructuring the English language. One reflects the other. A lot of people are getting tired of the huge pool of metaphors that have to do with war and conflict [and] the proliferation of battle metaphors, such as being a warrior, righting, defeating, and so on. In response, I could say that once you become conscious of these battle metaphors, you can start ‘fighting’ against them. That’s one option. Another is to realize that conflict is not the only human response to a situation and to begin to find other metaphors, such as resisting, outwitting, skipping, or subverting. This kind of consciousness can open the door to all sorts of new behavior.” — Ursula K Le Guin, Talking on the Water: Conversations about Nature and Creativity
Verse of the day
My children, our love must not be simply words or mere talk—it must be true love, which shows itself in action and truth.
– 1 John 3:18 (The Inclusive Bible)
Voice of the day
The heart of justice is truth telling, seeing ourselves and the world the way it is rather than the way we want it to be.
– bell hooks, All About Love
Prayer of the day
God, give us eyes to see the lies of scarcity, inequity, and prejudice in this world, and the courage to speak up with the truth.
“The idea that some lives matter less is the root of all that is wrong with the world.”—Dr. Paul Farmer, co-founder of Partners in Health
Though the forces of evil infecting whole nations and peoples are often hidden, complex, and elusive, we are called, as Christians, to unmask and expel them in the Name of the God of Love. . . .
As long as national security is our primary concern and national survival more important than preserving life on this planet, we continue to live in the house of fear. Ultimately, we must choose between security—individual, social, or national— and freedom.
Freedom is the true human goal. Life is only true if it is free. An obsessive concern for security freezes us; it leads us to rigidity, fixation, and eventually death. The more preoccupied we are with security the more visible the force of death becomes, whether in the form of a pistol beside our bed, a rifle in our house, or a Trident submarine in our port. . . .
We must find a way to go beyond our national security obsession and reach out and foster life for all people, whatever their nationality, race, or religion.
“To grieve with others is to share their pain, without trying to minimize or erase it. Grieving with others requires a willingness to be transformed by their experiences, especially those who have suffered trauma and violence. Grieving collectively and in community gives us the information to build solidarity, to fight for justice, and even to share in one another’s joy.”—Valarie Kaur
“I believe it to be perfectly possible for an individual to adopt the way of life of the future . . . without having to wait for others to do so. And if an individual can observe a certain rule of conduct, cannot a group of individuals do the same? Cannot whole groups of peoples—whole nations? No one need wait for anyone else to adopt a humane and enlightened course of action.”—Mohandas Gandhi
“Each one of us carries grief, sorrow that has perhaps gone unexpressed or been stifled or numbed. Each of us has been touched by pain and suffering at some time.”
— Christine Valters Paintner, PhD The Online Self-Study Retreat ~ A Midwinter God: Making a Conscious Underworld Journey
What is the sorrow you carry with you today?
Verse of the day
Depart from evil, and do good; so you shall abide forever. – Psalm 37:27
Voice of the day
Romans 12:21 exhorts us that rather than being overcome by evil, we should overcome evil with good. My hope and prayer is that we accomplish this not through force of arms, but by building a better world. – Simon Oh, “‘This Was Terror’— What I Saw on Sept. 11”
Prayer of the day
God of all people, / teach us to be patriotic, but humbly so. / Teach us to see the frailty, beauty, and value of life / in light of this tragedy / rather than using it to elevate / trivial difference to the heights of / divisive reasons for hatred. – Mark Sandlin, “A Prayer for the Anniversary of 9/11”
“Forgiveness is what love looks like in an imperfect world populated by imperfect people.”
A wonderful thought to consider as a new week begins. 💖
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