Earlier this week, I participated in a Listening Circle where Grief was the subject of discussion. So I’ve been thinking about what grieves me the most. Of course, I thought about my mother’s passing late last year, but it seemed I had (mostly) worked through that grief. Then I thought about the horrible thoughts that go through my mind when I cannot sleep at night. (Yes, I am working on dealing with that, knowing my mind exaggerated everything at that time of night!)
I realised that what grieves me most is the hate and intolerance that seems to be taking over our world. 
I did not grow up in a society that hated anyone. Of course, we had squabbles as kids and ‘hated’ our friends or parents for short periods of time. But no one hated someone for the color of their skin, their religious beliefs, their sexual orientation, or their political views. It seemed that we were all working to live our best lives, expressing ourselves in the world, and caring for one another.
Perhaps I was fortunate to have lived in an area with a diverse mix of races and religions. No one gave it another thought about those things. We played together, went to school together, and worked together later as adults. I moved to San Francisco for a year and was introduced to more diversity, which, personally, I found to be interesting.
But currently, we are watching the cruelty inflicted upon seemingly anyone who looks, believes, or lives differently than white, privileged people! Many people in our world are different, and I have always found these differences to be enlightening and essential to our civilization.
What I grieve is that we are allowing this hatred of those ‘different than us’ to permeate our society. We have a government that is perpetuating this hatred and cruelty in its actions. I know that many of us feel helpless in the face of the enormity of our government’s actions.
Who am I? I am just one small person in a remote area of Idaho! What can I do to promote change?
This is what I have decided:
- First and foremost, I will NOT vote for any government official who endorses hatred and cruelty!
- Second, I can decide, despite what I see in the world, to be warm and loving toward everyone, regardless of their race, religion, sexuality, or political views.
- Third, and maybe more important than the first two, is to pray! Sometimes, Spiritual intervention in our own lives and how we react to others can initiate change in our part of the world.
What grieves you the most? And what action can you take to move towards healing?