Advice to Self in the On-Going Work for Peace and Social Justice

Advice to Self in the On-Going Work for Peace and Social Justice

Do not ask,

“Am I enough?”

Instead claim that you are,

Believe that you are,

And live up to all that means.

Do not ask,

“Am I strong enough?”

Know you are strong enough and you will be given strength for the journey

There will be times when you feel you can’t go on,

There will be times when you have used every last resource;

Trust that you will be given strength anew,

To do things you never thought possible,

In the name of an ever-higher power,

And in the name of an ever-higher Love.

Do not ask,

“Am I good enough?”

For to ask this is to ask the same of anyone,

And I Know that we were all born good,

And that we all do the Best We Can,

Every minute of every day,

Even if we are not living up to our own expectations for ourselves, our families, our loved ones, our friends,

We know we can always do better,

And we must accept that we are STILL deeply, truly Good,

And speak from that goodness

And think in that goodness

And breathe from that goodness

And live in that goodness,

And we will BE that goodness,

And we will not worry anymore.

Do not ask,
“Will we ever win?”

For our fight shows we have already won.

Our commitment shows that our hope is alive,

Our dream is alive.

Our knowing that a better society, a better government, a better world, a better way IS possible, and that we are bringing it into being even now, our knowing means that any who try to snuff out our light, have already lost, and we cannot and will not turn back now, for we’ve come this far by faith.  And by faith in our vision, and in each other, we shall continue all the way to the realization of our dream.  To work for the dream, is the dream being realized, right here, right now.

Do not ask,
“Can I bear this burden?”

For nothing is heavy when others hold it with you,

And this is a burden you have never born alone and shall never bear alone.

Even as you felt alone, and you felt the weight of your struggle might suffocate you, might press all the air from your lungs, might squeeze the life from your very heart, others were bearing this load, too, others were in this struggle too.

Rejoice when you find one another at last, for though you did not know it before, their struggle held your struggle, their carrying worked at the same time as your carrying, and the load is lighter, the burden is lifted by many hands.  And these hands are here to free you, and yours are here to free them, and together we will breathe again, together we can bear any burden, together we have breath enough to sing as we carry it, and even to carry it as we march.

Do not ask,
“What of the tarnished past?”

For we all bear scars.  We all have done things of which we are not proud.  We all have hurt and been hurt by others.  We all have struggled.  We all have striven and fallen, and striven again.  Let us rejoice that we have survived our many deep wounds.  Let us know we are capable of healing any wrong.  Let us forgive ourselves and others so we may be free of all our chains.  Let us treasure the lessons our pain has taught us, and let go of the pain itself.  Let us be proud and grateful that we have survived to see this day and all our precious tomorrows.  Let us know and love the gift of life, and let that love of life drive us in our work evermore.

Do not ask,
“Am I too angry?”

Your anger is a fire of transformation that lights up the sky, that signals to others to circle ‘round, that warms those who have been frozen and lost, that burns a path before you through the impenetrable thicket so that you may walk, and lead.

Remember flowers and the Phoenix rise up from the ash.

Your anger can build, and it can destroy.  It can open caverns into the human heart and mind, as a volcano, as an earthquake, bearing forth that which was buried long ago.

Your anger is right, and righteous, but it is not all of you.  You are the master of your mind.

Do not listen to those who say you are too angry, for they work to keep the truth hidden.  It is likely you have never freely and openly been angry ENOUGH.  Find safe spaces to let yourself rage with the heart of a hurricane, and come to know that power.

Know the power of this emotion, and know the power of all emotions.  Too often, anger is equated with violence.  We will not let this fallacy continue.  We have every reason to be angry, and we have every reason to use that anger as we work and act in diligence for peace.

Do not ask,
“Do I know enough to participate?”

You have lived all this time, participating in life the way you have because of what you know.

Everything you need to know to begin upon this path, you know already, inside your heart, your mind, your body, your soul.  You have a lifetime of experiences, of observations, of hopes and dreams fulfilled and unfulfilled.  You have education from every situation you have been in, and every person you have encountered.

You may still have work to do, but do not let that “to do” list keep you from starting.  Believe that you know enough, and that what you need to clarify, research, or discern, you will do as you need to, along the way.  The mind is flexible, expansive.  We hold wisdom in every cell of our being, and that is enough for us to wake up every day.  It is enough to awaken at any moment.  There are no limits.  In fact, you are on the path already.  You have already begun.
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CBF
1/20/2015