The Worst of Humanity
Before the worst, the best. A reminder of tonight’s meeting at Sheila’s. 6:30PM (Tue 29th October).
How do we choose to respond when we are faced with the worst of humanity? Living School guide Valerie Dodge-Reyna reflects on the moving wisdom of Holocaust victim, Etty Hillesum, who wrote in her journal about connecting with our divine indwelling and reclaiming a deep and abiding peace within ourselves.
We are collectively experiencing a deeply troubled world at so many levels. With the divisive nature of things, I can be hard pressed to find love in the people whose actions are breaking my heart. Just as I say that, I feel how easy it is for me to slip into my own “holier-than-thou-ness.”
I once heard Teilhard de Chardin scholar Ilia Delio say that God literally loved everything into existence; from every grain of sand to every human. If this is true, then how do we understand people with a love-resistant agenda or condoning rhetoric? The simple and most difficult answer is that we cannot change anyone. But if we can’t change a thing, maybe we can be a different kind of thing.
For this seemingly impossible task, I have been inspired lately by Etty Hillesum (1914–1943). Etty was voluntarily held captive at the Westerbork transit camp in the Netherlands so that she could be with fellow Jews before they were deported to concentration camps.
Etty was not a white-washed-saint, nor did she “gloss over” or “water down” the catastrophic events in the world. She faced evil squarely—and there in the reality of utter darkness, she found God hiding below the surface of horror. Written in her discovered diaries,
“There is a really deep well inside me. And in it dwells God. Sometimes I am there too. But more often stones and grit block the well, and God is buried beneath. Then he must be dug out again.”
What can we learn today from one of the great American mystics? Howard Thurman cultivated a deep inner awareness, a body of profound spiritual writing, and a way of life that worked tirelessly to remove the things he saw as separating us from God. Read more on the life and work of Howard Thurman in October’s We Conspire series.
How would we live if we truly saw everyone as a child of God? Powerful theologian and spiritual teacher, Howard Thurman (1899–1981) understood the sacred nature of everyone and everything from a very young age. The grandson of formerly enslaved people, Thurman grew up cultivating a strong and loving relationship with nature—observing and honoring the sacred in animals and plants around him. He was also greatly shaped by the culture and traditions of the African American Baptist church in which he was raised.
Thurman co-founded the nation’s first interracial, intercultural church and became a theological leader at some of the country’s most prestigious institutions. As his career blossomed, his spiritual life deepened, and he developed his own theology grounded in mysticism, authentic prayer, and a deep commitment to just action.
“There is something in every one of you that waits and listens for the sound of the genuine in yourself. It is the only true guide you will ever have. And if you cannot hear it, you will all of your life spend your days on the ends of strings that somebody else pulls. Don't ask yourself what the world needs.”
― Howard Thurman
“Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.”
“There are two questions that we have to ask ourselves.
The 1st is " Where am I going?" and the 2nd is "Who will go with me?" If you ever get these questions in the wrong order, you are in trouble.” ― Howard Thurman
“There must be always remaining in every life, some place for the singing of angels, some place for that which in itself is breathless and beautiful.” ― Howard Thurman
When I feel anger ,despair or simply cannot understand the actions of others,I try to imagine the little child that started that journey .I wonder upon what led them to their current path and feel deep sadness for them that their potential has become twisted and misshapen.
My own mum was a great example of someone who looked for the good in everyone and taught me by example to do the same.I will always remember someone knocking at the door to try and get her to sign a petition against ex offenders being housed locally. Mum refused to sign it and endured a barrage of" but you have all these young children ,don't you want to protect them?" Even as a young child listening in,I remember feeling proud that my mum had made a different choice and in doing so had protected us.We were protected from the belief that people are simply good or bad and our minds were opened to a world of many shades of grey,but also to the beauty of light and forgiveness . Clare x