am<\/em> tired, and I\u2019ve learned the hard way that trying to pretend things are better than they really are only causes more problems.<\/p>\nBut I can keep going because of holy tension and holy trust.<\/p>\n
Trying to change the world without killing yourself in the process requires living in holy tension.\u00a0 On one hand, we understand what we\u2019re doing is critically important.\u00a0 We\u2019re dealing with fundamental questions of justice: of the rights of people to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness without constant harassment and of the right to trial by jury and not trial by cop.\u00a0 We\u2019re dealing with questions of equality and fairness for all genders and all orientations.\u00a0 We\u2019re dealing with the respect for Nature and the very survival of our species.<\/p>\n
These are all critically important issues and everything we can do to push the moral arc towards justice helps.<\/p>\n
On the other hand, we recognize that the problems are immense and any one thing we do is only a drop in the bucket.\u00a0 Filling up that bucket is going to take a long time regardless of what we do.\u00a0 If we need to go to bed early or watch a silly movie or go on a pilgrimage that\u2019s OK.<\/p>\n
We live in holy tension between importance and irrelevance.\u00a0 Irrelevance reminds us that if we miss something, that\u2019s OK.\u00a0 This is a marathon and getting proper rest is both permissible and necessary.\u00a0 Importance reminds us that when we\u2019re rested, it\u2019s time to get back to the work that must be done.<\/p>\n
Those of you who can honestly sing \u201cI Don\u2019t Feel No Ways Tired\u201d \u2013 you have my respect and admiration.\u00a0 Those of you who have no choice but to sing \u201cI Don\u2019t Feel No Ways Tired\u201d because you don\u2019t have the privilege of getting away even for a short time \u2013 you have my prayers.\u00a0 The only comparable situation I\u2019ve experienced had an end date and I knew it \u2013 I can\u2019t pretend to know how you feel.<\/p>\n
But when those who have the privilege to leave pretend they\u2019re not tired, sooner or later they exercise that privilege and they don\u2019t come back \u2013 and the world is less because of it.<\/p>\n
We keep going because we have holy trust.\u00a0 As a polytheist I don\u2019t have the luxury of believing this is all part of some divine plan (p.s. \u2013 if this is your God\u2019s plan, tell him to get a new one).\u00a0 But I can still trust that if I do what I can do it will be enough.\u00a0 What I can do isn\u2019t enough to fix a broken system, but it\u2019s not my responsibility to fix the system by myself.\u00a0 It\u2019s my responsibility to contribute what I can to building a world that\u2019s more just, more compassionate, and more sustainable.<\/p>\n
And I trust that what I can do is enough because I trust the next generation to continue the work.\u00a0 The human lifespan \u2013 and thus our frame of reference \u2013 is incredibly brief.\u00a0 This is exacerbated by the rate of change that has increased exponentially just in my lifetime.\u00a0 Yes, this should be motivation to work as diligently as possible to make things right for those who are here while they\u2019re here.\u00a0 But it should also remind us of the reality that we\u2019re working on something that\u2019s bigger than any of us and its completion will take many generations.<\/p>\n
Demanding justice now is always right.\u00a0 Being frustrated when we don\u2019t get it is understandable.\u00a0 Letting ourselves burn out because we don\u2019t get it right away is counterproductive.<\/p>\n
Things are better than they were 200 years ago, 100 years ago, even 50 years ago, because of the work of our ancestors.\u00a0 Now we continue the work they started.\u00a0 When we are gone those who come after us will not start from scratch but will pick up where we left off.\u00a0 Sooner or later, the world will see something that looks like justice.<\/p>\n
So to my friends who are frustrated and angry and tired:\u00a0 take care of yourselves.\u00a0 Live in holy tension and holy trust.\u00a0 And remember that some day we will join the ancestors.\u00a0 When those who remain look back at our lives, may they find us worthy of their honor.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Demanding justice now is always right. Being frustrated when we don\u2019t get it is understandable. Letting ourselves burn out because we don\u2019t get it right away is counterproductive. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1129,"featured_media":3083,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[272],"tags":[498,4,5,8,55],"class_list":["post-3082","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-community-2","tag-ferguson","tag-pagan","tag-paganism","tag-polytheism","tag-social-justice"],"yoast_head":"\n
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<\/a>I\u2019m hearing from a lot of friends who are frustrated and angry and tired.\u00a0 This isn\u2019t surprising \u2013 if you have a heart, how could current events not have you frustrated and angry and tired?\u00a0 Those of us of a certain age once thought we\u2019d be long past this by now.\u00a0 While our society has made some progress, there is still so much farther to go, and there is always someone or some group trying to drag us back into the dark ages.<\/p>\n