for me, it started with the news on npr. snippets here and there yanked at my heartstrings. war ripping families apart, refugees drowning in boats, opportunists taking advantage at every turn, desperation oozing and blanketing. i don't watch tv and i don't open my web browser to buzz feed, but one day i saw a picture of a family ducking under barbed wire, each young parent clutching a child. the children's faces were stricken with fear, but it was the parents' faces that stopped me cold. i stared. i felt that these parents could muster no calming platitudes to their precious children, because their faces betrayed their insides overcome with terror.
and then a cherished babe washed up and borders closed and tear gas poured and terror came to parisian restaurants and concerts and governors said hell no and we all felt a little pinch of the terror of holding our babies close and wondering what comes next.
we feel a pinch.
they are drowning in it.
we can't be sure about them.
they can't be sure of anything…of where their children will lay their heads tonight…of if they will watch them die of starvation or cold or disease…of whether their children will ever again have a home…or a future.
we want to be safe.
but my fear cannot preclude love. fear must not be allowed to breed hate. hate in us will breed hate in them...and then where will we be? only when "us" includes "them"…only when "we" take on some of "their" fear…only when love takes the place of some of that fear...only when we love our neighbor as ourselves...only then will we feel we have done something that truly makes a difference.
they are us. i want all of us to be safe.
clearly this is an incredibly tough issue. we need to be wise…and loving. i truly believe that these two work beautifully in tandem. wisdom is not true wisdom apart from love.
compassion starts with knowledge.
basics of the syrian refugee crisis
insight into why individuals are willing to risk it all
a view of the perilous journey to europe (these 3 via)
a picture of unity
are we tough enough for ordinary love
and glorious anthems of surrender + hope
take this heart and let it break.
love,
jane
and then a cherished babe washed up and borders closed and tear gas poured and terror came to parisian restaurants and concerts and governors said hell no and we all felt a little pinch of the terror of holding our babies close and wondering what comes next.
we feel a pinch.
they are drowning in it.
we can't be sure about them.
they can't be sure of anything…of where their children will lay their heads tonight…of if they will watch them die of starvation or cold or disease…of whether their children will ever again have a home…or a future.
we want to be safe.
but my fear cannot preclude love. fear must not be allowed to breed hate. hate in us will breed hate in them...and then where will we be? only when "us" includes "them"…only when "we" take on some of "their" fear…only when love takes the place of some of that fear...only when we love our neighbor as ourselves...only then will we feel we have done something that truly makes a difference.
they are us. i want all of us to be safe.
clearly this is an incredibly tough issue. we need to be wise…and loving. i truly believe that these two work beautifully in tandem. wisdom is not true wisdom apart from love.
compassion starts with knowledge.
basics of the syrian refugee crisis
insight into why individuals are willing to risk it all
a view of the perilous journey to europe (these 3 via)
a picture of unity
are we tough enough for ordinary love
and glorious anthems of surrender + hope
take this heart and let it break.
love,
jane
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