Silence, Story, Song

In the midst of the business of our lives, it is critically important that we take the time to enter into silence. 

In quiet and solitude, we can listen deeply to the still small voice within that invites us to live out of our deepest desires and truth. 

In quiet and solitude, we come to see and know more fully our story as it speaks to the stories of our sisters and brothers. 

In quiet and solitude, we hear the voice of the marginalized and oppressed and we know that voice to be connected somehow to our own. 

In quiet and solitude, we can come to understand that our hopes and dreams are bound up with the hopes and dreams of our sisters and brothers in greatest need. 

A mother of four was asked which of her children she loved the most.  The questioner expected her to say that she loved all of her children equally. She did not.  Without hesitation, she responded simply, "I love the one in greatest need the most."

And so it is in knowing our own great need, our own pain, our own suffering and struggles, that we are invited to love the most our sisters and brothers in greatest need and pain, those who are suffering and struggling the most. 

In quiet and solitude, each of our stories becomes a sacred song that we must sing. 

And in singing our song, we give others, especially those in greatest need, the freedom to sing theirs. 

A professor captured the essence and power of silence, story and song by presenting us with the image and paradigm of "The Joy/Pain Pendulum." She said that the experience of losing her brother and her father in the same year helped her realize a simple truth.  "My experience of loss and suffering," she said, "teaches me that the more deeply I allow myself, in quiet and solitude, to truly and deeply feel my story of pain, without running away from it or drowning it in addiction or escapism, the more deeply I am able to feel joy.  The more fully I am able to sing my sacred song." 

My wish and hope for you is that in quiet and solitude you come to more fully know your story of joy and pain to be integrally interwoven with the stories of our sisters and brothers in greatest need, and that this deep knowing liberates you to sing your sacred song and share it boldly and beautifully with others.

I believe...

I believe...

I believe, help my unbelief

I believe in the inherent dignity

of all human persons,

Iraqi, Afghani, Palestinian, Israeli

I believe, help my unbelief

I believe in the power of peace and nonviolence,

the prevailing power of love, agape,

the most durable power

I believe, help my unbelief

I believe in the goodness of citizens throughout the world, and the courage they possess

to speak truth to power

I believe, help my unbelief

I believe in the redemptive, healing power

of compassion and hope, to reconcile and mend,

to help make enemies friends

I believe, help my unbelief

I believe in the power of our Creator to work wonders, to beat swords into plowshares, using

nothing less or more than the work of our hands

I believe, help my unbelief

I believe in the Truth that

brother Bin Laden, and brother Bush,

brother Jong-Un and brother Obama,

have been created good,

in the image and likeness of God

I believe, help my unbelief

I believe that together we, as sisters and brothers, global community,

can embrace the energy of global unity and life

and overcome division and death

I believe, help my unbelief

I believe in the power of the cross,

building bridges,

crossing the divide of disunity,

destruction and disrespect,

I believe, help my unbelief

I believe in justice, which restores and heals,

reconciles and reveals,

mercy and right relationship

I believe, help my unbelief

I believe that we can bomb the world to pieces

but we cannot bomb the world to peace

I believe in waging peace - paz, salaam, shalom

I believe that we shall overcome

I believe that violence anywhere

is a threat to justice everywhere;

I believe that mute prayer

is my greatest weapon

I believe in the conversion

of chants and slogans

to word made deed,

fearless and free

I believe…

Dr. King's Call for a Radical Revolution in Values

Dr. King’s invitation to a radical revolution in values is rooted in an ethic of community, complexity and connectedness. 

The definition of moral values in the wake of the 2010 United States Congressional elections is rooted primarily in individualism, personal gain and at its worse, an ethic of destructive divisiveness, devoid of civility, constructive criticism and any substantive conversation about the common good or building what Dr. King would call “the beloved community.”

Dr. King’s moral revolution asserts that each human person has inherent dignity and is deserving of respect. This revolution requires that we, together, work to build the beloved community, understanding the nuanced notion that we are called to attack evil and injustice rather than our sisters and brothers who might commit an immoral act. 

Long before President George W. Bush dangerously and disturbingly declared Iran, Iraq and North Korea to be the “axis of evil,” Dr. King poignantly, prayerfully and prophetically identified the morally true axis of evil: poverty, racism and militarism or violence.  To decry and wage war against this axis of evil is the rallying cry and mandate of Dr. King’s revolution in moral values.

Whereas Dr. King’s radical and revolutionary invitation invites us to attack injustice, as “injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere,” our contemporary, popular culture morality often invites us to attack people and nations.  It claims to know who is good and who is evil.  It simplistically defines right and wrong, and freedom and justice, attempting to justify attacking those who disagree with us.  This secular morality is not a revolution, rather it is a devolution, a degeneration, in values.  It cries out for response.     

                                     

Dr. King’s response is a prophetic call to love. “Love,” he asserts, is “the most durable power in the world.”[1]  The love that he preached and lived was expressed in the Greek word agape.  Agape is defined as unconditional love.  It is a love that loves all because all are created good, as daughters and sons, in the image and likeness of God. He adds that

agape is understanding, creative, redemptive good will for all…. It is an overflowing love which seeks nothing in return.  And when you come to love on this level you begin to love … the person who does the evil deed while hating the deed that the person does.”[2]

In his essays, “Nonviolence and Racial Justice,”[3] and “An Experiment in Love,”[4] Dr. King outlines six primary principles or characteristics of this nonviolent love:

1)             it actively resists evil and oppression;

2)             it does not seek to defeat or humiliate the opponent, but rather to win her or his

             friendship and understanding;

3)             it attacks the forces of evil not persons perpetrating it;

4)             it requires a willingness to accept suffering without retaliation;

5)             it calls all to avoid both physical as well as spiritual violence; it mandates that we not 

                only refuse to shoot, but also refuse to hate; and

6)             it remains rooted in a undying faith in the future and a conviction that the forces of 

                the universe are on the side of justice. 

This nonviolent love has the power to transform hearts and minds, indeed the world, and it is the lifeblood of Dr. King’s radical revolution in values.

           

Thus, taken seriously, Dr. King’s revolution of moral values requires nothing less than a total, nonviolent, loving transformation of contemporary American culture and moral values. 

           

Contemporary morality in America all too often permits passivity in the face of social evils such as poverty, militarism and racism, while actively promoting unbridled consumerism and a self-consumed, get-as-much-as-you-can mentality. 

           

Contemporary morality in America all too often invites us to attack persons, such as the people of Afghanistan, persons who are gay or rival politicians. 

           

Contemporary morality in America all too often seeks to humiliate people rather than break down barriers between people. Political campaigns, for example, are all too often about smear tactics, humiliation and divisiveness rather than constructive criticism, respectful disagreement and a genuine attempt to understand the position of the other. 

           

Contemporary morality in America all too often posits and "us vs. them" mentality, and asserts that courage requires a willingness to objectify the other, “them”, and insult “them” and even seek to cause “them” to suffer, lest "they" get the better of “us” or make “us” suffer. 

           

Contemporary morality in America all too often justifies hatred of the enemy and fosters fear and rage resulting not only in violence to the other but also violence to our own individual and collective soul. 

           

Contemporary morality in America all too often fails to foster true faith in the future, but fosters instead fear and fence-building. 

           

Contemporary morality in America all too often is diametrically opposed to Dr. King’s revolutionary call to build the beloved community and radically transform our moral and social values.  Dr. King beckons, “Never succumb to the temptation of becoming bitter.  As you press on for justice, be sure to move with dignity and discipline, using only the weapon of love.”[5]

If Dr. King’s definition and vision of moral values prevailed today, there would need to be nothing less than a total transformation of our political, social and spiritual reality.  Indeed, hatred would be no more, and people would truly be prioritized over possessions and possessiveness. 

The words of Booker T. Washington, often quoted by Dr. King, would be our guide, “Let no man pull you so low as to make you hate him.”[6]  For, as King adds, “When he pulls you that low he brings you to the point of defying creation, and thereby becoming depersonalized.”[7]             

           

Practically, Dr. King’s revolution would require an all out attack on the poverty inherent in tax cuts for the wealthy, growing disparities between rich and poor, and devastating cuts in social welfare programs.  It would require an all out attack on the racism inherent in voter disenfranchisement throughout our nation, and in our racist prison industrial complex.  It would require an all out attack on the militarism inherent in the depersonalization and destructiveness of war..  It would result in an ethic of community, creativity and connectedness.  It would mandate word and deed rooted in agape.  It would require that we learn from “the enemy,” and work to make “the enemy” friend rather than seek to destroy “the enemy.” 

           

In his words to the Clergy and Laity Concerned at New York’s Riverside Church, April 4, 1967, Dr. King described the fruit of his moral mandate:

Here is the true meaning and value of compassion and nonviolence, when it helps us to see the enemy’s point of view, to hear his questions, to know his assessment of ourselves.  For from his view we may indeed see the basic weaknesses of our own condition, and if we are mature, we may learn and grow and profit from the wisdom of the brothers who are called the opposition.[8] 

This radical, revolutionary morality, rooted in nonviolence and love, requires that we listen to our enemy. 

           

It requires that we see in ourselves our own immaturity, our own anger and hatred and capacity for violence. 

           

It requires that we wage war against our personal, internal, as well as societal, external, poverty, racism and militarism. 

           

It requires that we set a date to remove all troops from Iraq and Afghanistan, just as Dr. King called for the removal of all troops from Vietnam.[9] 

           

It requires that we enter into true dialogue with our “enemy,” Al-Qaeda, Osama Bin Laden, the neighbor or family member with whom we are in conflict. 

           

It requires radical openness to the power of agapic transformation in our world and in our hearts. 

           

It requires, in the words of Dr. King, a “call for a world-wide fellowship that lifts neighborly concern beyond one’s tribe, race, class and nation … a call for an all-embracing and unconditional love for all….”[10]

Indeed, this is the great challenge of Dr. King’s moral revolution, to mature in our understanding of ourselves as human family and global community, so that war and hatred become obsolete. 

           

If we listen carefully, we can still hear his prophetic, weary, but unwavering, voice trumpeting this call to truth and transformation:

We can no longer afford to worship the God of hate or bow before the altar of retaliation. … We are now faced with the fact that tomorrow is today.  We are confronted with the fierce urgency of now…. We still have a choice today: nonviolent coexistence or violent coannihilation.  This may well be mankind’s last chance to choose between chaos and community.[11] 

---

[1] James M. Washington, Ed., “The Most Durable Power,” A Testament of Hope: The Essential Writings of Martin Luther King, Jr. Harper Collins, San Francisco, California, c. 1986, p. 11.

[2] Id., p. 13.

[3] Id., p. 5.

[4] Id., p. 16.

[5] Id., p. 10.

[6] Id., “An Experiment in Love,” p. 20.

[7] Id.

[8] Id., “A Time to Break Silence,” p. 237.

[9] Id., p. 239.

[10] Id., Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos or Community? p. 632: “A genuine revolution of values means in the final analysis that our loyalties must become ecumenical rather than sectional.  Every nation must … develop an overriding loyalty to mankind as a whole in order to preserve the best in their individual societies.”

[11] Id., pp. 632 – 33.

Teaching, Fasting and Inter-being

When I was teaching a social justice and peacemaking course at DePaul University in Chicago, I gave students a take-home mid-term exam that over 70% of the class failed. 

We had been studying, among others, Arun Gandhi’s book, Legacy of Love: My Education in the Path of Nonviolence.  In the book, Arun, Mahatma Gandhi’s grandson, shares the story of how his father, Manilal, Gandhi’s son, attempted to parent according to Mahatma Gandhi’s teachings. 

Arun was sixteen and had just learned to drive. He drove into town with his father to run some errands. In the early afternoon, he dropped his father at the bank and then took the car to the garage for repairs.  His father told him to meet him back at the bank at 5 pm. 

Arun took the car to the garage and the repairs were completed much more quickly than anticipated, so Arun decided to go see a movie.  He did not get back to the bank until close to 6 pm. 

When Manilal asked Arun why he was so late, Arun told his father that the repairs at the garage had taken longer than expected. 

Manilal replied, “Funny, that’s not what they said when I called the garage.” 

Arun had been caught in a lie.  Instead of punishing Arun, Manilal said simply, “Clearly I have not conveyed to you the importance of telling the truth.”

Accepting responsibility for Arun’s failure, Manilal then added, “I will walk home.” 

Arun drove the car slowly alongside his father.  It took them over an hour to get home.  Arun’s mother was terribly worried.  Arun shared that he never lied to his parents again. 

Arun’s story was on my mind when I announced to our class that most of them had failed the mid-term. 

In light of the principles we had been studying, in particular, Arun’s lesson, I said to the students, “Obviously, I did not convey clearly enough what I expected from you.” 

I then added, “We will discuss and decide together how you can redo the exam or do extra credit to help your grade. Also, in the spirit of what we have been studying, I will do a three day liquid fast for your success.”

We had read the words of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Gandhi and others who had engaged in fasting as a way to invite transformation of hearts and minds toward deeper truth. 

After I made this announcement, three students raised their hands and asked if they could join me in the fast.  I did not expect this. I was deeply moved.

Together we discussed ways in which students could rewrite their exam and do extra credit to help improve their grades.  All of the students took advantage of this opportunity, and not only passed, but did quite well.  Most raised their grades significantly. 

More importantly, the students who joined me in the fast shared their experiences with their classmates.  They spoke of the transformative power of fasting. None of them had ever fasted before.  They shared that they felt a spiritual power internally, and a deeper sense of connectedness to one another, as a result of fasting.  They also said that they felt a bit more connected to those who go without. They expressed a deep, visceral sense that their individual success and well-being was intimately interconnected with the success and well-being of their fellow classmates.

They also made a profound connection to a central teaching of Thich Nhat Hanh, a Vietnamese Buddhist monk nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize by Dr. King, and one of the human rights advocates we had been studying in class. Hanh believes that the verb ‘to be’ should be replaced with the verb, ‘to inter-be’.  “It is not that ‘we are’,” he says, “it is that we inter-are’.” Thus, if one is harmed, we all are harmed; if we harm another, we harm ourselves.

The students who had fasted felt this connection.  They shared that they had come to understand more deeply that our failure or success as a human community depends upon all of us seeing that we are all responsible not only for our own success, but also for our collective success or failure as a global community. 

If some are deprived of human rights, we all are. If we deprive others of human rights, we are depriving ourselves of the same rights.  One of the students who fasted said that she more fully understood the words of Dr. King that we had discussed in class: “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”

The students’ stories and insights were a moving testament to the transformative power of the principles we had been studying put into practice.  Seeming failure was transformed into success.

I was never more proud, for one of the greatest moments for a teacher is when your students become teachers themselves.

Prayer, Meditation and Being Present

I had the privilege of living, working and spending time with Mother Teresa in Calcutta, India.  I also had the sacred opportunity to work with Northern Ireland's Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Mairead Maguire.  Both of these women exuded peace and a profound ability to be present.  When I was in their presence, it was if I was with my Italian grandmothers, I was the only person that mattered.  It seems that both Mairead and Mother Teresa had an uncanny ability to be fully present to whomever they were with, all the time.  Of course, I had to ask each of them, "What's your secret, how do you do it?"  Without hesitation, both women responded with one word, "Prayer."

In the midst of the business of our lives, I have found that it can be extraordinarily difficult to find or make time for silence.  When I do get quiet and take the time for prayer and meditation, it makes a profound difference. I am more focused, more compassionate and more present.  As a teacher and professional who works with inner-city high school students and community leaders in Newark, NJ and college students in New York, I find that people are hungry for silence and prayer.  It provides an opportunity to stop and pay attention to the deepest longings and desires of our hearts. It helps us connect to our most profound truth, our most authentic selves, who we are called to be, what we are called to do in the world; and it helps facilitate healing. 

Dr. Mitchell Gaynor, President of Gaynor Integrative Oncology (www.drgaynor.com) and Clinical Assistant, Professor of Medicine at Weill Medical College, affiliated with Cornell University and New York Hospital, has pioneered new strategies for both the treatment and prevention of cancer. He is the author of numerous scientific papers and three books: Healing Essence (Kensington Health 2000), Dr. Gaynor"s Cancer Prevention Program (Kensington Health 1999), and The Healing Power of Sound (Shambhala 2002). His work integrating meditation, and other alternative practices, into his mind, body, spirit holistic approach to treatment has been proven to complement and enhance traditional western medical practice in a way that can help patients fight disease. His secret?  He invites patients to engage in age-old transformative practices utilized by spiritual leaders from all of the world's great traditions, including prayer and meditation. 

Author C.S. Lewis said that "the present is the point in time which most closely touches eternity." Prayer and mediation help connect us with the present eternal moment, the moment which in turn enables us to focus on, and listen to, more deeply the needs of others.  Pythagoras, Ionian Greek philosopher and founder of the religious movement called Pythagoreanism, said that silence is the music of the universe.  If one is still, standing on the earth that is in motion, spinning on its axis and revolving around the sun, one experiences lyric, transcendent silence.  The result can be a profound sense of connectedness to the present and ones present place in the world and universe. 

Thus, with Mairead, Mother Teresa, Dr. Gaynor, C.S. Lewis, Pythagoras and all spiritual seekers of truth, I invite you to make time for prayer and meditation.  I pray that in this way you will be more compassionate and more present to your heart's healing, lyrical desires.

Live justly.

I once asked a friend for advice when struggling with a difficult decision.  He paused and said to me, "Sometimes I think life is more to be lived out than figured out."  In the words of St. Ignatius of Loyola, founder of The Society of Jesus (Jesuits), "love is manifest more in deed than word."  So, we must, as my grandfather said to my father when he too was struggling with indecision, almost to the point of paralysis, "just live."  However, we also must "live justly, love mercy and walk humbly with our God."

Certainly there is truth in Plato's insight, "the unexamined life is not worth living."  I would add, neither is the over-examined life.  Faith is shallow and hollow without deeds.  However, mere reaction, without reflection, is often similarly hollow.  So what should we do?  Listen, learn and then just live. Live justly.

How do we live justly?  In the words of Mother Teresa, "it's not the great things we do, but the little things with great love that matter most."  In the words of an anonymous aboriginal woman, "if you have come here to help us, go home; if you have come here because your liberation is bound up with mine, let's work together."

For more on living a just and liberating life, here are a few good sites:
The King Center: http://www.thekingcenter.org/
Peace People: http://www.peacepeople.com/
Peaceful Tomorrows: http://www.peacefultomorrows.org/
Aung San Suu Kyi on Facebook:  http://www.facebook.com/aungsansuukyi
The Freire Project: http://freireproject.org/ and 
The Gandhi Institute: http://gandhiinstitute.org/