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September 2001
Response to the Tragic Events of September 11th
Dear Friends,
Linda has just completed the first week of a three-week wilderness Virtues Project retreat
for First Nations elders and community development workers. The news of the catastrophe reached Linda at a remote lakeside tent by radio phone on Tuesday morning within minutes after the crash into the World Trade Center towers occurred, and just as they were finishing their morning prayer circle. With many tears, they spent the remainder of the morning in circle sharing their grief and praying aloud for the victims, the family survivors and for the world. Linda has longed to be in touch with all of you this week, knowing that you are finding ways to be of service to others as you shed your own tears and offer your own prayers for healing this world.
Hilary arrived back in Canada hours before the tragedy. She has spent the last four weeks filming a documentary on the AIDS pandemic in East Africa and seeing first-hand the extremes of human suffering and poverty that exist alongside incredible examples of human compassion, strength and hopefulness. Already feeling churned up inside by the inequalities in our world, Hilary has spent the last week trying - as we all have - to find the teachable moment in all this.
This crisis has presented a profound Teachable Moment for the peoples of the world. Will we feed the hatred and fear generated by fanaticism or will we come together to stand for unity and peace - for all people?
Here are some of our thoughts and the Virtues we are calling on at this time.
We need TRUTH - and COURAGE - to see the world for what it really is... a place where good and evil battle for precedence in the souls of all peoples. Our hearts ache with compassion for the bereaved, but there is also some sadness in our hearts that it took a tragedy on our doorstep to move us all so. We try to live decent lives and it is so human to neglect the tragedies that are not right in front of our eyes. Let us acknowledge the truth that 4,000 children die in Iraq of starvation, that 2 million Dinka people have died in the last 4 years of civil war in Sudan,and thousands more are in slavery. Let us remember the 30,000 men, women, and children who died at the hands of terrorists in Nicaragua in 1980s. Let us remain aware of the millions and millions of men, women and children around the world who face daily tragedies of disease, starvation, torture, war....
And let us be truthful that our collective calls-to-action this week are partly motivated by fear...because suddenly this is close to home. These are people we know. The tragedy is tangible...it also threatens us and our loved ones. Let's have the HUMILITY to be truthful and then look beyond that, take the teachable moment, use our UNDERSTANDING to see the full truth and resolve to do our part to heal the world - the WHOLE world. We need TRUTH to see the world's pain and not just our own.
We need JUSTICE because real evil is being fostered in our world and must be made accountable, must be stopped. The killing and torture of innocent men, women and children cannot be condoned wherever, whenever and however it occurs. Yet Justice is not revenge. Revenge merely reaps a harvest of multiplied hatred and resentment. To paraphrase Gandhi - "An eye for an eye and soon the whole world is blind".
JUSTICE is love for the truth and then the courage to stand for truth - and RESTORATIVE Justice heals and re-builds.
We need COMPASSION for those that grieve and also for those that are in need all over our fragile world. We need compassion for our enemies and for the deep despair that can lead to suicidal violence and martyrdom. As long as the gap widens between the "have's" and the "have-nots", there is the potential to foment tragedy. And we all contribute in some way to that gap.
What can we do? We can make a COMMITMENT to take actions towards the healing of our world. We may feel powerless but we can act in so many ways:
Take the time to reach out to others to offer spiritual companioning and to be companioned. Remember the power of receptive silence and the gift of helping others to empty their cups.
Offer to facilitate healing circles in your homes, in your Faith communities, schools, community groups, with children, teens and adults.
Create community. How do we create peaceful neighborhoods? We meet our neighbors, we listen to their stories, we share resources, we discuss the events of the day, we celebrate together and we grieve together.
We create SAFETY by creating COMMUNITY.
Make donations of blood and of money to the Red Cross and to other organizations who give succour to those in need and who work for peace.
Check on people that may not have much of a support system, that live alone, and lend a listening ear.
Offer support to your Moslem friends or acquaintances. Commit to interrupting any bigoted statements people make in your presence, keeping in mind that it is unjust to blame an entire Faith community for the actions of a fanatical group.
Make a commitment to find a way to create neighbors right across the world and focus less on our own needs and more on theirs. We just heard of a recent example: Hilary's daughter studying Theology at Harvard, reports that yesterday when she and her husband attended service at their Anglican Church, the pastor announced they were invited to an "Open House" at the local Mosque. The entire congregation went. And the Synagogue across the road from the Mosque opened its doors and they all thronged across the road to greet their Christian and Muslim friends. This is just one beautiful example of what we CAN do and what IS being done in many communities to keep hope and love alive in our hearts.
Peacefulness is solving conflict in a way that respects everyone's point of view. It is an inner sense of calm that comes at moments of gratitude and reflection. Peace is giving up the love of power for the power of love. With peacefulness, everyone wins.
This crisis has moved us to be more deeply committed than ever to these ideals in our own lives. It offers a true perspective about what matters in this life and what doesn't.
Please join us in using the lessons of the Virtues in your own lives, in your families and in your communities to be beacons of peace.
We send you all our love and deep gratitude for all you are doing to be a force for love, justice, understanding and peace.
Linda, The Yukon and Hilary, Victoria British Columbia
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