Doing What You Can: Thursday's Reflection

Grandson Peter, age 10, and I shared writing time one morning this week. We brought our journals and other writing materials to a bakery/coffee shop and spent a chunk of the morning together. First, he wrote a letter to his sister at camp (my suggestion) and then I offered a writing prompt, "If I owned a bakery...." He filled a page of his notebook with a description of his bakery, "Peter's Fruit Bread Bakery," and with a list of all the baked goods for sale.

I started a long overdue letter to a friend, but, I confess, mainly I sat and watched Peter. We conversed some, too, about the dog who was waiting for his owner to come out of the bakery, but also about some of the activities at the sleep-away camp he is going to next week. He's a bit nervous about going, he says, and I acknowledged that and said I admired him for doing something new.

He's a great companion, and it is always a joy to be with him.

Spending time with Peter and with Maren, age 15, when she is available or at least in need of a ride, is something I can do. I can be a source of love and understanding for them. I can be a safe place for them. 

How easy it is to be overwhelmed by the surging needs and scariness all around us. I vacillate between reading and listening to as much news as possible and then declaring a major time-out. I ask myself and hear others asking, "What can I do? How can I possibly make a difference?" No doubt you've been having this conversation with yourself and with others, too 

Here's what Kwame Anthony Appiah who teaches philosophy at N.Y.U. and responds to ethics questions in a weekly feature in the NYT Sunday Magazine says, "Our obligations to make the world better are limited by a simple principle: What we owe is only our fair share of the burden of securing for others what they are owed."

All week long I have been sitting with my version of those words.

              Bear one's share of the burden.

Here's what I can do, using the gifts and resources I have, along with the time and energy I have.
      * I can spend time with my grandchildren. I can be part of their team, as they grow into a confusing and sometimes scary and unsettling world. 
      *  I can meet with my spiritual directees and listen to their concerns and help them uncover the person God has created them to be.
      *  I can create opportunities in my faith community through retreats and other programs to explore how we can each be a presence in the world.      
      *  I can gather with others to talk about what most matters and to share perspectives and knowledge. 

AND  
      * I can write about what touches my heart. Elizabeth Jarret Andrew says,

            Writers, this is our moment. Artists, truth-tellers,
            beauty-makers, people who make parts into wholes,
            all of us who connect the private, hidden stirrings of
            the heart to our complicated human communities,
            history now calls us. Now is the moment to put 
            everything we've got into creative engagement. Why?
            Creativity is an act of love; it teaches us to believe in
            possibility, it trains us to revise (re-see) the world. It
            demonstrates that 'the interior life is a real life, and
            the intangible dreams of people have a tangible effect
            on the world,' as James Baldwin wrote. We need all 
            this now. 

And, of course, I can and will vote. I can contribute financially to causes I believe in and people I support. I can stay informed, but not addicted.

Oh, and one more thing, and perhaps this is the most important thing, I can breathe blessings into the world. 

All day. 

Every day. 

With my whole heart. 

An Invitation
What can you do? I know you can do something, and I would love to know what it is. 

NOTE #1: To read my post on blessings, go here.

NOTE #2: I recommend 365 Blessings to Heal Myself and the World by Pierre Pradervand and also his website https://gentleartofblessing.org