My letter to the Editor printed today - Invest in People, Not Prisons.

I was in shock when I read that Scott County was going to use $5.5 million of Covid relief money to help build a new $17 million, 40-bed Juvenile Detention Center. Covid relief was meant to help individuals, businesses, and the community that were negatively impacted by Covid. It is unethical to use these funds to build a detention center. This is a manipulation of the law to continue the school-to-prison pipeline that disproportionately suspends and arrests African American youths.

Scott County supervisors even turned down a $500,000 grant to start a youth advisory program to help struggling youth. Let us invest Covid relief money in our community. Let us use it to provide affordable child care and housing and summer youth jobs. Let us invest in community resource centers, such as the Lincoln Center that serve our community. These types of investments are not just an act of prevention to divert juveniles from prison, but rather they are an investment in the inherent worth and dignity of every person.

We need to do this because otherwise we are depriving our community of the richness of each person who does not have the opportunity to live up to their potential. I invite our community to have the courage and will to create a better way of living that sustains everyone in the community. Allow all people to reach their potential and we will all be enriched. Let us support our youth and families, not incarcerate them.

My Journey on Silent Retreat

 On my day of silent retreat I thought I would take a stroll around the monastery grounds. When I started out it was raining fairly heavy, so I decided to read. After reading for two hours I decided to go again. As I walked out of my hermitage I came upon this statue.

I continued to walk along the path in front of me which I knew led to a lake area. It was a winding path down a hill. There was a nice breeze blowing, and there were wildflowers all around

I finally reached the lake which had a cement walkway around it. I walked slowly around the lake and came upon a dock.

I wondered if I should sit and ponder the water, but I thought best to continue the journey. I thought I could always come back to it on the way back. Let that be the first lesson. Take your opportunities when they present themselves. They may not be there when you decide you are ready and you may choose something else later. Sometimes you have to stop the journey to enjoy the moment in the moment

So I continued on. I walked until the cement path ended about half way around the lake. I thought I might make it all the way around. But alas that was not to be. I imagined this as my journeys end, I decided to wait a minute and sit before I headed back to my room. The journey had seemed a bit like a labyrinth, although it did not have any set pattern that I knew in advance. After a few moments of watching the lake water ripple, and listening to the birds chirping, I raised myself and headed back.

Sometimes our lack of imagination is what limits us. I imagined this was the end. Yet it was only the beginning. I just didn’t know it then. In the regular day to day life it might have and often is. Looking back, this was a lesson that we should imagine more. Imagine things beyond the proscribed path.

 The best part of taking time for myself, is that it is unscripted, and I leave myself open to mystery and adventure if I am willing to embrace it. And as I winded my way back along the lakes edge I reached the dock once again. I thought, should I go sit down and ponder the lake from this angle before I made my way back to my room. At least here I thought I am communing with nature. And then I looked left. I do not know what compelled me to look left. Perhaps randomness, or just taking in the sights, but I saw a mowed piece of grass between the wildflowers

 

 

 Now in the picture you can see t here is a sign “trail”. But when I first saw the path from farther back I did not see the sign. I thought it was odd that there was this mowed area. Perhaps it led to a storage shed or to another property. It was not clear from where I was that it was a trail. Still I moved forward. I had seen what was to be seen on the proscribed path laid out before me, and although peaceful, it clearly did not satisfy me, and so I thought what is the worst that will happen. I will go a distance, and I will have to walk back. So I went off the proscribed path and lo and behold I saw the sign path. I didn’t look that way coming since I was focused on the lake. And on the way back, the sign was obscured by bushes from the direction I was walking. In our lives there are signs. However sometimes we are too focused on other things that we miss them. Let that be a lesson to  us that we should take a broad view of everything around us that is within our field of vision, (literal but also metaphorical) Let us intentionally look for the signs that are placed right before us beckoning us. And so I journeyed into the unknown. And as I was wondering whether to walk down this path, a large breeze came through and it seemed to me that the trees were waving at me inviting to enter the woods.

 

And so I ventured downward into the path through the woods. It was darker in the woods. I actually found this peaceful. I walked gently and slowly noticing the flowers and tree limbs. Some broken off by the storm. As I walked slowly I listened for the sounds of the woods and I heard a rustling and I looked and saw a deer leaping away. I thought no need to run, but I imagine, deer have learned to fear humans and for good reason. So I just watched it bound away and appreciated its beauty and ability as it went on it way seeking safety. I noticed butterflies flirting around. Its amazing how much is going on in the world if you pay attention. And then I came to an old rickety bridge. It didn’t look too stable, but it was stable enough, and not that far a fall even if it couldn’t hold me. There I am, always calculating the risks. At times necessary, but we need to take risks in life if we are to grow. Bridges have great symbolic meaning of course. Crossing over from one place to another. Not just physically but metaphorically. Once I cross over, I am in uncharted territory. A bridge is a signifier of crossing over to new territory. Not good or bad, but a marker. And also it is just something that prevents us from getting wet or falling into water. So bridges are protectors as well as borders.

And so I travelled on. Not knowing where it would lead. And with each step, although logically I knew I could retrace my steps back, each step plunged me deeper into unknown territory.

Each step seemed to take me deeper into the woods, into the unknown. How would I get back? Would I be too tired or weakened if I went on. Would I get lost. What happens if it starts raining while I am out here. But still I walked on. I think it is like that with our spiritual and religious lives. We are comfortable where we are, and we wonder why should risk comfort. Why take risks. But as I kept walking down hill, I just had faith and trust that the journey would work out. The Robert Frost poem “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” came to my mind. Although it is not snowing. It is dark and deep and quiet. I am aware of how quiet it is lacking normal human noise. I feel committed to this journey so on I go.

 

 

I feel as if my faith has been rewarded as the path leads back uphill and I see an opening with the sun starting to break through the clouds. As I reach the top of the hill. There are three paths to choose from. There is a sign that says Monastery pointing back from where I came from. So this is another moment of choice. Just when we think we have reached where we are going, things are not always so clear, and we continue to have to make choices. I would like to imagine that all three of these paths circle around, but there is no way of telling. I played a little game in my head. Left means I have left for good. I wasn’t ready for that. Straight ahead would seem like I was just following directions, and my life has never been just a straight march in one direction. So I chose right…maybe for righteous?? Well and also my sense of direction indicated that should be the way back to the monastery – it was starting to drizzle and as much as I like a good adventure, I really did not want to get soaked. Another thought crossed my mind, that perhaps by being deep in the woods covered by woods I was protected from the rain. So going deep can protect us from the difficulties we face in life. So I went right. Uncovered now from the torrents of weather and life still searching to find my way.

This path led me down again into some darker twisting and muddier paths. It was at this point I had wished I packed my sneakers instead of a pair of loafers. Also a good lesson, we should learn from our experiences, and maybe better prepare when we are going on a journey, but when there is nothing to be done to change the situation, regret is useless. I will have to clean my shoes when I get back.   Nothing is ever simple or straightforward on a unknown journey. There are obstacles along the way, whether that is downed trees or people telling you, you shouldn’t or couldn’t do something, or worse telling ourselves that and short circuiting our journey. And sometimes our journey gets muddy. That is how life is. If we stop every time something goes wrong, we would never reach our destination. We need to keep moving, one step at a time

 And then the moment of truth. An hour into my walk I come upon this. Another bridge with a yellow tape across it. This immediately seems like a symbol to turn back.

What was I to do? I had been walking for close to an hour now. And although I had no idea if the way forward would bring me closer to my destination the thought of turning back now seemed daunting to me. Plus I am not one for following arbitrary rules.

I think it is like that with our spiritual and religious journey as well. We get so far and then we societal conventions or rules tell us to stop and go no further.

I chose to move forward. I looked carefully and saw there was a hole in the wood further on the bridge. So I decided to look as the yellow tape as a warning. Something telling me not to abandon my search, but to go slowly and be careful. So I gently stepped over the tape and walked gently over the bridge avoiding the pitfalls that could damage me. A good message that we do not always have to go full charge ahead. That we should be aware of the dangers we face on our journey. I was glad that someone had forewarned me to be careful in this place. How we view things are often shaped by what we believe and perceive. I saw the yellow tape as stop go back, but it was meant as a way to help make me aware of danger. We should not stop our journey, but rather  become more mindful of the steps we take, and learn from those who have walked this path before.

And not too much farther down the path, it opened up again to the sight of the monastery I was staying in. This gave me hope I was in the right direction. Yet there was still not a straight path. I had to choose right or left. Remembering the mind game I played before and feeling bad that I connoted left with a negative thought and thinking of all my friends who are left handed who would condemn that thought, I chose to turn left and started the steep incline back up the hill to the place I call home this weekend.

 

 

And lo and behold, as I made it to the top of the path, I found myself next to the path that went down to the lake (notice the statue in the background) This path was right by my hermitage, but I had not even seen it. And so I made it back to where I started. I am reminded of the lines from the T.S. Eliots poem “Four Quartets”

“What we call the beginning is often the end
And to make an end is to make a beginning.
The end is where we start from.”

I don’t know where this journey will continue to lead, but I am clearly still on the path. Yearning for something still unknown. Still looking for the better in humanity, Still looking for justice. Perhaps we just need to become more aware and not take the proscribed path and take a walk into the unknown, if we can awake and see that it is there. Sometimes we have to go all the way around the block to go next door. If that is what it takes, so be it. And enjoy the journey along the way. Ok, back to reading.

Thanks for journeying with me.

 

The Beautiful Things That Heaven Bears – By Dionaw Mengestu

A nice, sad, poignant novel, that tells the story of an immigrant from Ethiopia. I was sorry for it to end, so I must have liked it.

The title of the book comes from a quote from Dante Alighieri's, "Inferno"

“To get back up to the shining world from there

My guide and I went into that hidden tunnel,

And Following its path, we took no care

To rest, but climbed: he first, then I-so far,

through a round aperture I saw appear

Some of the beautiful things that Heaven bears,

Where we came forth, and once more saw the stars.”

The book shares the interior life of immigrant and store owner Sepha Stephanos who came to America to escape the violent revolution in his home country. He explores the hopes, dreams others have for him and he has for himself. The pull of the world and people he knew and always feeling as an outsider in the new world he inhabits. His relationship with a wealthy white woman and her daughter in their gentrifying neighborhood, and his store,  are interposed and intertwined with the experience of an African Immigrant in America.  What I liked most about the book, is that it touches on the full gamut of real emotions, whether admitted or not. We see the way his mind works, the secrets he keeps, and the realization of how we understand events over time to be different.  

Emblematic of their life journey, his friend is writing an epic poem about Africa that is never finished. Forced out due to violence, with hopes and dreams and a feeling of obligation, that sometimes makes it  seem their life is not their own. The ending of one of the poems is

“We have come this far,

to find we have even further to go

The last traces of a permanent twilight

have faded and given way

To what we hope is nothing short of a permanent dawn.”

And eventually that is boiled down to

“Let us stop. Let us begin again.

Let us clean the blood from the rubber fields

And do what we promised to do.”

The story shows the journey through life and his realization of his realizations for better and worse.

“We walk away and try not to turn back, or we stand just outside the gates, terrified to find whats waiting for us now that we’ve returned. In between, we stumble blindly from one place and life to the next. We try to do the best we can. There are moment like this, however, when we are neither coming nor going, and all we have to do is sit and look back on the life we have made”

It is a good reminder to focus on what kind of life we are making. Life is ongoing. 

 

The Unthinkable

 From the Heart Of The Minister - The Unthinkable:

In between my five zoom meetings Wednesday, I spent a part of day glued to my phone switching back and forth between my Facebook, Twitter and New York Times Apps. First, I was waiting to hear the final results of the Georgia Senate runoff. Then I was wondering what Pence and the Republican Senators would do in regard to certifying the election. I had no doubt what the outcome would be, but the concerted actions of the President, Vice President and certain Republican Senators to undermine the integrity of the elections still worried me about the future of our Democracy.

Unitarian Universalism believes in the free and responsible search for truth. We should remember the responsible part. There was a responsible search for election mistakes and fraud and there was nothing of significance found. No evidence was ever presented to the courts that indicated anything wrong. If anything we know Republican controlled states tried to suppress democratic voters. Even so Joe Biden won both the popular and electoral college vote by significant amounts. That is the truth.

The ongoing statements by the current President and Republican Senators that there was widespread fraud and he had actually won the election despite having no evidence created an atmosphere that led to yesterday’s coup attempt on the Capitol Building.

As Unitarian Universalists, “we affirm and promote the use of the democratic process within our congregations and in society at large.” The attempt to overturn the democratic vote of American citizens and the attempted coup is criminally seditious and immoral and against my religious values.

I do not understand why there was not more protection or a plan of action to defend the Capitol. We had known for weeks that there was going to be a pro Trump rally on that day. President Trump encouraged his followers to attend and even tweeted in advance encouraging people to attend and writing “be there it is going to be wild”. I would be remiss if I did not compare the preparation for this event compared to the preparation for the Black Lives Matter Event in DC this past spring to protest the death of George Floyd. At the spring event there was significant National Guard troop presence. There were aggressive and violent action taken to remove Black Lives Matter protestors, and there were a significant number of arrests. There was none of this on display this week as these insurrectionists took over the Capitol Building. The only logical conclusion I am left with is that the lack of preparedness was due to the issue that was being protested. White Supremacy was being challenged after the death of George Floyd and the government wanted to eliminate that challenge ruthlessly. This pre-coup attempt rally was in support of white supremacy overturning the will of the people and the government didn’t seem to think that was a risk.

The election of a Jewish Man, and a Prophetic African American Minister as Senators in Georgia which gave Democrats control of the Senate was another visible sign of the changing nature of the shift in power in our country away from white dominance. This fear of the loss of control and power exacerbated an already excited crowd at Trump’s rally. In fact, Trump incited the participants saying with the Senate in the Democrats control now, his Presidential Veto was the only line of defense to protect them. He had lost the election and was still trying to convince his followers he had won.

Rudy Giuliani in his speech the day of the insurrection encouraged the crowd that there should be “trial by combat” and in a speech that followed, the President after wishing that the Military and Secret Service could join them, encouraged his followers to walk to the Capitol and said “you’ll never take back our country with weakness. You have to show strength, and you have to be strong.” And then the unthinkable happened. Since he had no legal way to overturn the election, at the Presidents urging, his followers attempted a coup of our government.

So what do we as Unitarian Universalists here in Iowa do about this?

First let us be happy that in the end the coup failed and that Democracy is still standing if even tenuously. Let us continue to vociferously reject attacks on our Democracy.

Second, let our actions be guided by our values. Unitarian Universalist values of the democratic process should have us insist on getting the John Lewis voting rights act passed so there will be an end to voter suppression and gerrymandering, and an end to corporate funding of elections so that the will of all the people will be heard. We need to strengthen our democratic processes.

On a national level and as well on a local level.

Unitarian Universalist principles ask of us to act for peace, liberty and justice for all in a compassionate and equitable way. This requires us to see the overt and systemic racism that is embedded in the events of the last week and the last four and four hundred years. I encourage everyone first to become more educated about these issues and to get involved in our community to work to end the white supremacy culture of violence, power and control that were brazenly on display this week.

We all have fears. I am fearful of losing our democracy.

I am also fearful because people I know are suffering.

Suffering from COVID 19 or the loss of a loved one from this disease.

Suffering from the lack of empathy of our fellow human beings including governmental leaders who will not even wear a mask in public or distance themselves let alone put in place policies and procedures to mitigate the damage.

Suffering from medical issues without adequate or affordable health care and facing the lack of available medical care including mental health care.

Suffering from loss of work due to COVID and a government that seemingly is unwilling and uncaring to act to help in a significant way.

Suffering living with with food and housing insecurity.

I am sure these people who participated in the coup, were fearful. Violence always stems from fear.

Perhaps they are fearful of losing their sense of what they believed about this country, and their position in it. The question is what do we do with our fear? Do we lash out and create harm? Even worse do we let our fear paralyze us and prevent us from acting? I have found the best solution is to face our fear, recognize it, be compassionate towards ourself and then move forward with fear as our companion.

Let us move forward to do the work to change the systems to improve the lives of people who are suffering in whatever small or large way that we can and to protect those who are most vulnerable in our society.

Let us never hesitate to speak up and out about injustice that we see.

Let us be open to hearing the pain of those who are suffering.

Let us wake up each day with hope and a sense of wonder and work to build the world we dream about. That is the only way it will come to be. With us being committed and coming together to do the work that needs to be done. Take a deep breath. Be gentle with yourself.

Remember the words of Unitarian Universalist Minister Wayne B Arnason:

“Take courage friends.

The way is often hard,

the path is never clear,

and the stakes are very high.

Take courage.

For deep down,

there is another truth:

you are not alone.”

With a grateful heart

Rev. Jay

Movie Review - Pixar's Soul

I have mixed feelings. I liked it, and there are challenging issues raised.

I will not give details of the movie, so as to spoil it for those who have not seen it. First I want to say even though this is animated it is not really a movie for little children. Whereas “Inside Out” dealt with the inner mind and thoughts of youth adults, and was funny and poignant,  this movie is about the deep existential human questions about death and how we live our life.

Overall it is a good message. The message is we should appreciate each moment of our lives. And we are fulfilled through building positive relationships with others. There were also some challenging thoughts. First it definitively suggests an afterlife where we go to the great beyond (go to the bright light – I’m ok with that) and a before life. This before life though has a very Calvinistic approach to it. It suggests that we are all born with certain dispositions and personalities (we are born good or evil). The image was a little too “predestination” for me. (probably for those who do not think theologically all the time, this brief idea might have not even been a blip on screen in your viewing the movie but it was for me).

The other challenging idea raised around the idea that a soul cannot go to earth until it finds its spark. That fits in with the predestination theme. What WAS interesting and challenging to me was the concept that our spark is not necessarily related to our purpose in life. In fact the movie raises the question that we may not have one singular purpose in life. I have spent a lot of time in my life trying to understand my purpose. I have learned mostly through my Buddhist practices and teachings to live in the present moment. Still I like to think of what I am doing as having some purpose even if it is unknown to me.

The movie focuses on people being in the flow when they are in touch with their spark. However it also indicates “The zone is enjoyable, but when that joy becomes an obsession, one becomes disconnected from life.” It reiterates the focus on being connected with life. It is an interesting question of balancing greatness (the whole practicing 10,000 hours) which sometimes requires some obsession. So it is an interesting question about finding balance between following your passion and finding joy. I don’t know the answer but I thought it was an interesting question.

The funniest part of the movie was when 22 (a particular soul before life) keeps messing with the flow of the New York Knicks players so they wont be any good.

I do not like the ongoing negative stereotypical view of accountants that is portrayed in the film.

I loved the music in the film

Lastly I think I must mention the issue of race. First  I am glad to see an animated movie that is full of African American characters which also provided jobs for African Americans. However this movie does continue a trend of sort in Disney animated movies that have non white lead characters becomes non human. It just happens too often to make it a coincidence.

The Princess and the Frog – Disney’s first African American Princess becomes a frog.

Spies in Disguise – African American Secret Agent becomes a pigeon.

Brother Bear – An Inuit boy becomes a bear

Emperor has his new groove – Incan Emperor becomes a Llama

Now Soul – the African American protagonist becomes an bluish amorphous ghost like creature and then a cat.

Perhaps I am being too obsessive about this. But perhaps that is why the movie included a negative about being obsessive about things. Very subtle if you ask me.

Despite this I enjoyed the movie because it was thought provoking and I love existential questions and I loved the music.