Looking out my window through sleepy morning eyes back in mid-September, I saw the sun above the tree line. It was pale orange and huge, faintly reddening the dusky haze around it. Almost other worldly, as if from a sci-fi movie, I could look right at it. I checked my weather app and noticed a new icon I had never seen before, two straight lines through the sun signifying “hazy sky.” California and Oregon are burning, and the smoke from the worst fires in my lifetime had darkened the upper atmosphere all the way to my home in Wisconsin.
The West is on fire; three hurricanes hit Pensacola in the last two months; the global pandemic has killed thousands; protests and racial tensions are boiling; burning and looting scar our cities; citizens take up arms; domestic violence and suicide are rising. It seems like the world is imploding.
Our men and women in Congress used to go to lunch together and hammer out deals. Now, they can’t stand each other, can’t even be in the same room together, can’t work together. Democracy gridlocked. The Information Age is in full bloom, and those with the resources to drive our media and social media platforms stream their narratives 24/7, choosing which videos to show or not show, which statements to highlight or ignore, which experts to interview or discredit, always the ones that suit their narrative, always doing all they can to influence us. Objective news is dead, and we are left to gravitate towards the stations that our individual worldviews resonate with. Many of us have followed our leaders and media into two deeply divided camps; the U.S. hasn’t been so divided since the Civil War. And, oh yeah, every time I change the channel, there is a new post-apocalyptic movie on TV.
An old B Movie I saw in Seattle in the 1980’s comes to mind. Koyaanisqatsi. The Hopi Indian word for “world out of balance.”
How did we get here? How do we go forward from here?
Call me crazy, but my deceased daughter Jessie whispered gently but oh so powerfully on my heart soon after she was murdered by a friend: “Dad, we’re all in this together, and we’re all going to have to get out of this together.” Has it dawned on us all yet? We are in a fight for the soul of humanity and our planet. And we are all going to have to get through this together somehow. But given the present circumstances and environment, is that even possible?
Yes it is. But only if we do the work. Each of us. Enough of us.
What work? The daily work. The daily work and practice that the great teachers down through history, including Jesus, The Buddha, The Dali Lama, Mother Theresa, Gandhi, Mandela, MLK, and many, many others, have been trying to get us to do forever. The work of Love. The daily down-in-the-dirt practice of adding love to our world. Blessing those who curse us. Loving our enemies. Thinking, speaking, and listening with open ears, kind mouths, peaceful hearts. Turning the other cheek. Meditating on peace. Random acts of generosity. Forgiving little and big trespasses. Taking care of people, especially the downtrodden. Doing good to those who hate us. The daily work of adding Love to the world so as to drive out hate. Literally practicing at and working at Love.
Last week amid the chaos of our times, another blessing came my way. Jessie’s old middle school math teacher, who she idolized, emailed me. “I have something you should have,” he said. It was a CD she made for him, back when she had just learned to record with her cheap starter keyboard, back near the beginning of her creative musical outburst, back when she was discovering her voice and her talent. I’ve been listening to the same several songs of hers for seven years; I thought they were all we had left of Jess. But suddenly here was a fresh new treasure, new songs she sang when young and hopeful, pennies from heaven, more “butterflies.”
If you have listened to Jessie’s CD, the one we knew about, and if you know Jessie’s story, then you have probably been struck by some strangely prophetic lyrics that seem to fit and almost foreshadow what happened to her and her legacy project. And as I have listened to this “new” CD, several lyrics jump out too, in a different way, not prophetic, not even her words, just musical words that moved Jessie and seem to me so timely for the world today.
As you ponder pandemics and protests, burning and looting, fires and hurricanes, democrats and republicans—as your spirit wavers and wobbles under the weight of 2020’s troubles—I hope you listen to Jessie’s middle school cheap starter keyboard cover of Yael Naim’s New Soul (see link below), and let the lyrics soak in deep:
“I’m a new soul. I came to this strange world hoping I could learn a bit bout how to give and take.”
“I’m a young soul in this very strange world hoping I could learn a bit bout what is true and fake.”
“But why all this hate? … Trust and love is not always easy to make.”
No, they are not. Trust and Love are not easy to make. But the great teachers of history are calling, calling us to do the daily work, to show up for practice, to get better. Bless others. Love our enemies. Think, speak, and listen with open ears, kind mouths, peaceful hearts. Turn the other cheek. Meditate on peace. Give and forgive generously. Take care of people. Do the daily work of Love.
Amid pandemics and protests, burning and looting, fires and hurricanes, democrats and republicans, Jessie’s project continues to try to do the daily work of Love. We are beginning talks with MTV on a fifth TV documentary that will share her message and mission with “the next generation” worldwide. We “reached” 150K on social media last quarter. We present twice on October 1st so the next generation of recruits into Wisconsin law enforcement hears a powerful message of Love from a victim’s point of view. We made a second appearance live on TalkOne Radio in South Carolina last week. But more importantly, we are actively practicing and choosing to the best of our imperfect, limited, human abilities in these highly polarized times to Love and Forgive ALL people daily. Won’t you join us?
(P.S. We do NOT condone or overlook or accept ANYONE’s violence towards others. Consequences yes, punishment yes, but Love and Forgiveness also yes. Only Love drives out hate.)
When I listened to Ian and Jessie’s Letter to Humanity in the months after Jess was murdered, the final verse sunk deep into my soul:
“I’ll be here. I’ll be here for you.”
All these years later, I believe she is. I’ve heard her gentle whisper, usually when I need it most. Maybe she is here for all of us now, along with the great teachers of history, and the loved ones you have lost, to help us do the daily work of Love. As you go off to do it, as the fires rage, anger boils, and people hate, here’s a different final verse for you to reflect on, the last line in Jessie’s cover of New Soul:
“This is a happy end. Come and give me your hand…”
Sincerely,
Buck Blodgett, Executive Director
