Our ancestors came to this country in search of a better life for themselves and their families. Many welcomed us but others did not. We experienced fear, hatred, and violence that fractured, wounded, and tore at our hearts. We struggle to live with this brokenness, yet we know that this is the reality of life. The only way through it is to accept the fullness of life, including the parts that seem unacceptable. Even as we strive to eradicate the unnecessary suffering and correct injustice, love asks that we presence ourselves with all of what is here now, including the pain, the anger, and the grief.
“The wound is the place where the light enters” (Rumi). In accepting our vulnerability, our tenderness, our heartbreak, we may find ourselves more compassionate to ourselves and others. We must resist turning inward and away from the world now, in anger and fear, and allow our hearts to hurt and soften, opening to the world and caring for it, doing no harm. Seize this moment to plant seeds, tend to our communities, take a stand, speak out—from our hearts, from our full presence in the here and now.