“Perhaps peace is not, after all, something you work for, or ‘fight for.’ It is indeed ‘fighting for peace’ that starts all the wars…Peace is something you have or do not have.
If you are yourself at peace, then there is at least some peace in the world. Then share your peace with everyone, and everyone will be at peace.”
welcoming & loving our neighbors w/ food assistance, healthcare, shelter, normalizing rule of law & constitution, diplomacy, de-escalation, consistent view on human rights, w/ out exclusion, keeping religion & state power separate while allowing all to worship or practice as they feel called.
sometimes it feels like another life & i miss it deeply. but my heart is also overwhelmed with gratitude for the meaning, the community, the joy & laughter, & the whole range of human experience that theater has gifted to me in my life. i can’t imagine what my life would have been without acting & theatre. it is truly uniquely magical.
we may not know it from looking at our leaders, but we’re not obligated to act on our every worst or non-beneficial impulse. we don’t have to act out of fear, anger, or greed. there are no trophies for vengeance, just destruction & death. we can come to all that arises with practice, be the observer of our thoughts, of our emotional landscape. allowing thoughts & emotions to arise, & then fall away. we don’t have to cling to them or go in the direction they may lead. that allowing of space is an act of love, of generosity, & courage. ultimately, it demonstrates strength & a power greater than is displayed when we are reactive & act out without mindfulness or self-discipline.
what do we do when so many are bent on destruction, on asserting power & dominance, who oppress & target their own people, or choose conflict, killing civilians including children, destroying hospitals, schools, & places of worship? many say “peace” & “liberation”, but what they bring is destruction & death. one of the greatest gifts the Jewish tradition has given this world & a teaching i hold in high regard & try to live by, is the philosophy of Tikkun Olam, which means “repairing the world”. it is a foundational ethic & call to action, that we all can take part in – indeed, the world needs us all to take part in, especially in this moment when even some of the world’s most powerful leaders, Trump & Netanyahu among them, are off course & escalating harm & destruction. the direness of this moment is existential in scope. people are already dying & the suffering is immense. perhaps at times a situation does require force, motivated by immense love, fierce compassion, & restraint after all other efforts have been exhausted, but this is often not the case for the majority of war & conflict we see. ultimately we have a choice, each of us, whether we are going to participate in harm & destruction, or whether we are going to choose love, life, & restoration over & over again for as long as the world needs. may Tikkun Olam inspire, motivate, & govern our words & action in this challenging time.
friends, on this first day of spring, step outside. breathe deep. allow yourself to connect with & remember the order of nature. it is always moving towards life, towards creation. even, within the context of nature, death is a movement towards more life. this is all the more important, when we have world leaders who are bent on destruction. they are misaligned, they are in disharmony, blind & deluded. we don’t have to be. we as individuals, & collectively, can wake up. wake up to interdependence, to life, to love. may it be so.
“…the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, and self-control.”
~St. Paul in his letter to the Galatians
what fruit are we bearing?
may we embody such fruit for a world in need. may we, in this time, be discerning. may we practice opening our heart & steadying our mind, to see clearly those who are aligned with, participating in, or provoking cruelty, harm, & destruction. may we, in seeing clearly, be resilient in our love, fierce with our compassion, & wise with our words & action.