This week: Our Better Angels Edited by: SophyBells  
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Hi, I'm SophyBells ~ your editor for this edition of the Spiritual Newsletter.
The Rev. Scotty McLennan, author of the book Finding Your Religion, compares humanity's innate need for spiritual searching to climbing a mountain. In his view, we are all endeavoring to climb the same figurative mountain in our search for the divine, we just may take different ways to get there. In other words, there is one "God," but many paths. I honor whatever path or paths you have chosen to climb that mountain in your quest for the Sacred.  |
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Our Better Angels
“In a time of anger or despair, even if we feel
overwhelmed, our love is still there. Our capacity to
communicate, to forgive, to be compassionate is
still there. You have to believe this. We are more
than our anger, we are more than our suffering.
We must recognize that we do have within
us the capacity to love, to understand,
to be compassionate, always.”
Thich Nhat Hanh
“We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies.
Though passion may have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection.
The mystic chords of memory will swell when again touched,
as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature.”
President Abraham Lincoln
What a year 2020 has been - and especially the last week since the US Presidential election. How to describe it? I felt like I was a passenger in a car moving along the top of a cliff with the two tires on the right side hanging partly over the edge, driving in heavy fog, on black ice, one of the kids in the back seat throwing a tantrum. I’m relieved we didn’t crash, but it couldn’t have been a more stressful trip.
As with political decisions made in any country, there are "winners" and "losers" - there are those who are happy with election results, and those who are unhappy about it. Upset with the outcome or celebrating it - we still have to live with each other, and find ways to move on from the vitriol and anger. We must be true to ourselves and our core values, of course, but we must also learn to live with disagreement and disappointment without dehumanizing each other or turning to violence. As President-Elect Biden said Saturday night, “To make progress, we must stop treating our opponents as our enemy. We are not enemies. We are Americans.”
The many issues that surround political disagreements are more complicated than my few words can address here. And I don't mean to be trite, or ignore the reality that people are angry and afraid - some living in fear of their lives at the worst, or their way of life at the least. This can be said of everyone no matter now they voted. There is a lot of fear and anger in the world right now. But one way to move forward, together, is to call upon the better angels of our natures.
The “us vs. them” mentality is as old as humanity itself; it is the basis upon which every war has been fought — and is generally founded upon fear – the fear of not having enough of “something” or fear of losing “something,” which, in turn, leads to anger, resentment, division, defensiveness, name calling, and power struggles. While argumentative behavior may not be as physically devastating as actual war, it encompasses the same anger and divisiveness, and is based in some sort of fear. It is also driven by ego, which thrives on separation, judgment, and external power and control.
Of course it is not just politics that have these sorts of divisions. They can occur on other levels as well – within families for instance, when members have not spoken to each other in years because of a disagreement and lack of forgiveness – we all know instances of that happening. Divisions also occur in our workplaces, and even in religious congregations. Anytime people have strong feelings there can be harsh words and hurt feelings.
We are all citizens of humanity. Whether that citizenship is as part of a country or state or town, part of a workplace or congregation, part of a family of origin or family of choice – whatever communities we are part of – as citizens of humanity we need to be able to affirm that we are worthy of treating one another and being treated with, at the least, civility, and even better, with kindness, respect, and forbearance. Being part of any community, we all owe each other that discipline of self-restraint and good judgment.
I will close with a quote from Sufi Poet Rumi: “Not Christian or Jew, Muslim, not Hindu, Buddhist, Sufi, Zen. Not any religion or culture system. I am not from the East or the West, not out of the ocean or up from the ground, not natural or ethereal, not composed of elements at all…I belong to the Beloved, have seen the two worlds as One and that One call to know, first, last, outer, inner, only that breath breathing-Human Being.”
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Below you'll find some spiritual offerings from other WDC members. Please let the folks know if you read their piece by leaving a thoughtful comment or review. If you have something you would like me to highlight, please do share it with me, thanks!
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Here is a response to my last newsletter "Spiritual Newsletter (October 14, 2020)" about "Beginner's Mind and Letting Go:"
From dogpack saving 4premium 
Thank you Sophie for featuring my word art FENCE 2234953 in the newsletter. Your body may be in one place and need to stay, but your mind can imagine and recall lots of stuff that can be molded into wonderful and exciting word art. I'm home about 97 to 99% of the time and for the past several months have been home 100% of the time. There are many ways to enjoy fellowship, and many avenues for sharing creativity throughout the world which can result in making people happy, sad, or anything in between. Focusing on what you can do is better than the alternative "woe is me stuff." We have a lot of abilities and possibilities. Safe travels and many blessings.
Thank you!
      
Please keep your comments and suggestions coming! Until next time! SophyBells |
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Spiritual: November 11, 2020 Issue [#10460]
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