| Anne Williamson |
This has been a tough year. And, the past two and a half weeks have ached in a way I perhaps haven’t yet experienced. It’s not just that as a woman I feel rejected and widely unseen. Or, that as a sister, friend and ally, I cry for the pain and fear my Muslim, immigrant, people of color, and LGBTQ human family is experiencing. Or, the worry I feel for Mother Earth. And, it’s not even just that I am afraid. I was afraid after 09.11. It’s that I’m starting to doubt whether this grand melting pot experiment called America is going to work. Our nation feels divided and to quote Lincoln, “A house divided against itself cannot stand.”
So, I’ve been asking, “What do I do now? What do we do now?” And, honestly, I’m still sorting this out. I’m not entirely sure. But, two things are bubbling to the surface....
THE SHAPE OF MY HEART
| ANNE WILLIAMSON |
One of my favorite books to read my daughter is The Shape of My Heart by Mark Sperring. It runs through a series of shapes and their role in our lives concluding with, “And this is the shape I love you with. This is the shape of my heart.” So sweet.
Lately, though, it’s become more than a heartwarming children’s book for me; it’s become a question: how do we form the shape of our hearts? How do we? How do we actually become more compassionate, more loving?
There are a thousand stories every day – personal and not – that pull us to explore this question. But, recently, none has pulled my attention like the death of Michael Brown in Ferguson, MO. (You may find a timeline here.) The analysis of, and responses to, this event and its aftermath has been so diverse, it begs the-shape-of-our-hearts question. How is it that we feel so differently?
Perhaps it is because we’re not actually practiced in changing the shape of our hearts? The reason being: to really change the shape of our hearts requires deep discomfort. It can’t be achieved through loving someone you find easy to love. It comes when you expose your heart to that, to who, you struggle to understand, you struggle to empathize with, you struggle to love, and then say to your heart, repeatedly, as many times as it takes, “Open.” Whether a spouse we know intimately or a young urban black man we don’t know at all, we change the shape of our hearts by, as Jesus said, loving the “enemy” we perceive in them.
It is my belief this is the work of real spiritual growth. Whether we call it “salvation” or “enlightenment” or “nirvana,” it is not a destination but a process of changing the shape of our hearts. It’s a process where, instead of hoping to love some people well, we, in time, shape our hearts into a form where there is nothing but love… for all.
What do you think? LISTEN, LEARN, LOVE…
Read MoreACCEPTANCE
| ANNE WILLIAMSON |
Anyone who knows me well - and now, anyone reading this blog - knows I struggle at times with depression. My fear gets the better of me, and I sink. Thankfully, I always rise too; but, in the moment, depression sucks.
Recently, when in a depressed state, I pulled out my Bible and found myself reading in Matthew I should love my enemies. Having no human enemies, I felt deeply I was to love the "enemy" within: the depression. So, I did. I got still and started sending love to my fear, love to my depression. The best way to describe the result is expansive. I felt my heart soften and open. Instead of the exhaustion of constant resisting and fighting, I began to fall into loving acceptance. In so doing, I felt the fear recede, as if it too had received what it needed.
What do you think about the idea of acceptance? Take a moment to write down your thoughts. Then, LEARN, LISTEN, LOVE...
Read More