Good morning, Chaverim,
Like many of you, I have been horrified by the events that have unfolded this week in our nation’s capitol.
My parents took us to Washington DC on a spring vacation when I was 12. During the week we were there, we went absolutely everywhere…to every one of the monuments, to many of the Smithsonian museums, to the FBI building, the National Archives (where I think we saw the Constitution), to the White House, the Supreme Court and, finally, to the majestic Capitol building itself where we toured the Rotunda, Statuary Hall and the chambers of Congress. I was in heaven and in awe and have never lost that childlike awe in all the years since that visit so long ago.
So, the attack upon and desecration of that awe-inspiring building felt personal… like an assault, a violation and a trauma I will not soon forget. I am enraged, I am offended, I am hurt, I am shaken and deeply, profoundly sad…in mourning for my country and the ideals to which it aspires. (And, let us not forget to mourn the loss of the people who died during the assault on the Capitol and the more than 4,000 of our fellow Americans we lost to the out of control pandemic on the very same day.)
And so, without much hope of finding anything that might pierce the darkness, I was grateful to have found this quote. I hope it helps you, too…
Here is today’s Everday Gratitude Quote in the Middle of a Pandemic:
“ I believe that the world was created and approved by love,
that it subsists, coheres and endures by love,
and that, insofar as it is redeemable,
it can be redeemed only by love.”
— Wendell Berry
Is our world “redeemable”?
Is our country?
Are we?
Honestly, as I sit here this morning, I am not sure. But, I am sure that the rage and hate we saw on vivid display in Washington this week can not, can never, be the answer…if we turn against one another we surely will not survive. Like Mr. Berry, I believe the world was “created” by, and “coheres” because of, love. And, only love can bring us together, heal us, “redeem” us. It may not be enough…I pray it will be….but, it’s our best hope and it’s all we’ve got.
Sending love and a wish for Sabbath peace to all,
Marci
