CAN WE STAY PRESENT FOR THE LONG HAUL?
Photo by Liz Wuerffel
In response to one of my questions a while back, a reader said: "I try to think about running a marathon instead of a sprint." It's such solid advice for the most significant realms of human life such as intimate relationship, parenting, and work. It's also instructive when reflecting on our wins and our losses in life. Our energy is limited and we choose, consciously or unconsciously, where, when, and how we use it. Pacing ourselves is necessary if we want to be in something for the long haul.
I hope all of you took the opportunity to participate in our nation's ongoing experiment in democracy by voting in this election. No matter the result, we would all do well by ourselves and each other to remember the marathon metaphor by committing to show up and be present with our heartbreak and our hope next week, next year, 20 years from now.
I’m encouraged to do this by the story of John Woolman and the Quaker Community in Parker Palmer's Healing the Heart of Democracy. John Woolman "spoke with his fellow Quakers about the heartbreaking contradiction between their faith and their practice (of slavery),” for twenty long years before they became the first religious community in America to free their slaves.
