Holden Village, Washington
Article For Holden Village Voice, Written While The Executive Directors
When I sat down to begin this writing, I was reminded of a quote that went something like this: “there is a significant difference between ‘all are welcome here’ and ‘this was created with you in mind.’ ” The latter points to something far bigger. My life has placed me both inside and outside of what it means to be truly welcome. As a person of white privilege I do not know what that is like for those who always find themselves on the outside of true welcome, faithful inclusion and unity.
Living at Holden and on the wilderness boundary for over four years has made me aware, of many things. It has revealed the meaning of true welcome, offered spiritual insights, and posed some tough questions. These questions have, of course, led to more questions. Questions about where we are going as a human family and what we have done to our Earth. The question that formed for Peg and me and wouldn’t leave us alone was, What unites us all? Regardless of faith and the barriers faith sometimes creates. Regardless of geography or polity. Regardless of ethnicity or language. Regardless of culture or identity. What unites us? Thomas Berry says, “We are ALL here on this one solitary earth, hurtling through the universe insisting through some standard of denial that we are without unity even when a preponderance of beliefs and facts declares that we are part of this one unified creation,.” We must evolve and act. We must have new stories and rituals and look again at the teachings of Jesus and the other great wisdom teachers about love. We must evolve or remember that the resurrection is the gift of persistent love, stronger than death. To quote Elie Wiesel, “The opposite of love is not hate, it’s indifference.” We can no longer sit on the sideline and wait for something or someone to act to save our earth community. We must reform our relationship with the earth and each other, for otherwise, we have everything to lose.
The opposite of love is not hate, it’s indifference.
As I roll these words around in my mind, “this was created with you in mind,” I understand their difficulty and the necessity to practice them. I realize that I do not always look up at the mountains and remember “this was created with you in mind.” I need to be mindful and more aware of the unity and simplicity of The One that underlies the multiplicity and the complexity of outward life. The humility of spirit moves me to the strong heartbeat of love and draws me closer into relationship with creation and with the earth.
What has happened to our inherent instinct for unity? And how can we nurture it? Thomas Berry writes, “It’s all a matter of a story. We are in trouble now because we do not have a good story. We are in between stories. The old story, the account of how the world came to be and how we fit in it, is no longer effective. Yet we have not learned a new story. We need a story that will educate us, a story that will heal, guide, and discipline us.” In a world so fractured by fear, power and injustice, our summer conversation at Holden Village will call on us as individuals, as families, as communities, and as nations to harness the greatest of energies, love. How can love ground us, not in sentimentality but in the deep connection to that which all life comes? Can love alone begin to transform us?
The unity of love opens us to the spiritual dimension within everything that has being, and that within each life form is the soul from which all things come. We have to learn how to be in relationship with all things again, how to approach one another, and how to reassure each other. And we need to know the risks. We need to be aware of how fragmented the unity is and just how deeply our wholeness has been divided by fears and aggressions that have further compounded our brokenness. We need to find ways of giving real attention to one another, of entering into genuine dialogue with the earth and all its creatures. And in all of this we need to believe again in our incredible power to love. It is deep within us. It is deep within everything that has being. And love alone holds the strength to redeem our relationships and focus on what unites us rather than what divides us.
We invite you into the conversation. Our earth community depends on it.
May we learn today,
May we seek wonder today,
May we love today.
See more conversation in EARTH and SPIRIT
