One of the most common threads in spiritual direction conversations is “what do I do with my outrage over all the news I hear about violence and heartbreak?” I’ve asked my spiritual director that question a few times myself.
Overall, our world is proportionately less violent than it was thousands of years ago. But that’s irrelevant when news travels instantly via smartphones and social media now. We are aware of horrific violence everywhere it happens. And for sensitive people who are emotionally and physically affected by news of violence and suffering, it’s a huge issue.
For example this morning I woke up and to read the latest about the slayings of nine people in a Charleston, SC church prayer meeting and found out the argument is now over whether it was an act of hate-crime terrorism or the isolated working of a lone, angry, mentally ill young man. I watch a video of Daily Show host Jon Stewart’s latest rant regarding the church shooting which haunts me. He says (and I’m paraphrasing) “We acknowledge it, we stare into it, and we still won’t do anything about it.
So I want to give you 5 things you can do to create change for justice in the world. They aren’t groundbreaking or new. It’s just what contemplatives and mystics from a variety of traditions tend to do when overwhelmed with news of violence and suffering.
- Relax a bit. I know it’s hard but we can’t take on all the grief of the world. Use your best tool for relaxation (one that’s not alcohol or drug related!). My favorite is to sit comfortably and simply visualize the most relaxing place in the world for me (Hawaii). I feel myself there and my body starts to calm down. Some people call this “going to your happy place!” It works.
- Pray. One thing people of faith can do is call on the Source of Life to heal the hearts and minds of all who are suffering. My favorite prayer is to ask God to bring all good things together for the good of the situation. Nothing will change the tragedy that just occurred. But changing hearts and minds for the future is worth praying about.
- Ask how I’m being invited to be part of change. Contemplatives may be more content to sit and pray for peace. Others need to take action. This is where discernment is important. In your time of prayer, ask God, “is there an invitation for me to do something beyond prayer?” and “is there an invitation for me to be something different in the future?” We should not just immediately jump to the “what should I do?” without considering carefully what that is. We may be called to simply be in some way. We won’t know until we’ve sat with the question.
- Sit in silence. Wait for the sense of an answer to the above questions. When I talk about the “sense,” I mean listen not just for words or concepts or insights but listen to your body’s felt senses. And it’s perfectly normal not to get any answer while you are sitting! It may be that what you are being invited to do won’t be revealed until later. Maybe a friend talks to you about a community outreach or effort that sounds like it is just the right place to start.
- Take a media break. Or create a schedule for yourself in which you only check news or social media at certain times of the day so that you are not overwhelmed all the time. Remember the more media, the more we will feel the world is a dangerous place. It’s actually most of the time a safe place—much safer than, let’s say, the era of the Vikings (I use that example because I’m deep into the History Channel’s drama at the moment).
The good news is there are a lot of us in this together. I’ m one of those people who gets overwhelmed by news, especially news I get on Facebook for some reason. Let’s try these steps and see if we can find where we are led and what, if anything, we are called to be or do to help justice “roll down like waters.”
For more about spiritual direction as I practice it, please check out my website.
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