i’ve been a mess over the murder of Elijah McClain.
i haven’t had the words to post about it, honestly. i don’t know if Elijah was on the spectrum or not. though i suspect he was, i haven’t seen it confirmed. i have nephews who are Black and on the spectrum. who very well, one day, could be out and about waving their arms stemming or scripting and someone could report them for acting strange as the shop owner did. Are they going to be left alone, or given assistance, or killed by police for not reading social cues or not responding in a normative way??? Elijah did nothing wrong. This is so cruel what happened to him. He was walking home from purchasing an iced tea. He was dancing around waving his arms. He was wearing an open face ski mask because he was anemic. He was close to home. Why couldn’t the police have just walked/escorted him home?
Elijah played violin for shelter animals, he was loved by everyone for his kind and gentle spirit, he only weighed 140 lbs and he was anemic – what threat was he posing? Police once again assumed the worst, didn’t listen the the pleas for help and inability to breathe, ignored the vomiting.
I encourage you to read up on this, but also to look at these photos of this gentle soul who was killed and read his final words before his life was taken.
even if no one else answers the call, we have a responsibility to this life – which is to say our life, others’ lives, and all life – to be embodied love, which we do through our compassion which is our love in action, in service to end the harm and suffering we see.
though my main practice is sitting meditation, Shamatha (Sanskit for peaceful abiding, “Shyine ” in Tibetan), i am leaning into and benefitting from practicing Metta (Pali for loving-kindness, “Maitri” in Sanskrit) more regularly during this challenging time.
here is a Metta verse i wrote for myself in my practice quite a while back. though i’ve shared it before, i wanted to share it again, since it may be useful to reflect on for others as well.
for many of us life can feel overwhelming right now. there is an urge for some of us to just move on, or to pretend reality is something different than what data, lived experience, and facts tell us.
please rest as needed and then come back to the table.
#COVID19 is real and continues to rise in half the states, even while politicians and businesses push to reopen at the cost of human life. we are still in first wave, second wave in fall, and China has brand new clusters of outbreaks this week. openings should be done responsibly. we should be wearing a mask and social distancing responsibly.
#BlackLivesMatter still needs to be a primary focus. even with the spotlight on law enforcement culture, new videos emerge of racism, abuse of power, and death. the systemic and cultural changes needed take longer than a week or two – a lot longer, in fact – ongoing. we can’t lose this momentum, there’s too much at stake.
all of this, while having a would be dictator President who at every turn undermines the dignity and value of life – in humans, animals, and environment, while glorifying division, aggression, and violence.
we are finding that perhaps more than ever in our lives, that we are indelibly interconnected and our attention is needed. please please pay attention. life needs our attention.
just a reminder as we see examples of those in authority and seats of power choosing aggression and violence as their way…
especially when said power and authority is abused and used to further oppress the already marginalized, rebuff inalienable rights, and maintain the status quo.
we go to where there is suffering, this is the practice.
we go to where the suffering is in our own hearts and minds, and go out into the world to where there is suffering. this is the practice.
we sit with our suffering, to bear witness to our suffering, to know our suffering, to attend to our suffering, to allow our suffering to heal. this is the practice.
we go into the world to where there is suffering to bear witness to the suffering, to attend to the suffering, to change the conditions that have led to the suffering, so that there can be healing. this is the practice.
we must recognize the truth that we are interdependent and interconnected, one body of Life. it is our responsibility to attend to, to help, to love and heal the part of the body that is being harmed and is suffering. it can be uncomfortable, it can be challenging, but it is the work of Love.
this is why we say #BlackLivesMatter.
this is why we say #NoJusticeNoPeace.
this is why we say #SitDownRiseUp.
this is why we call it #EngagedBuddhism for Buddhists. ~j
