So, Gentle Reader, how DO we become better people? That is the question I was asking while in Colombia, and I am asking this question again. I need to become a better person. We all need to become better people. No exceptions! I was asking this question to my friend, Alonso, while we were driving in his car in Bogotá, just after the second father carrying his little child had approached our car to beg for money. The context of the conversation was that I was musing that in order to satisfactorily address the inequalities and injustices in our social systems, we first have to become better people, all of us. but the million dollar question is simply, how? What do we do? How do we do it?
Does this mean binge-watching Ted Talks? Perhaps binge-reading my blog (oh, I WISH!)? Do you first have to get religion? Well, I can't say that I actually got religion, but Jesus did get me, and he still hasn't let me go. In fact, much of what I know and believe about being a better person and working at caring for others has its roots and source in my relationship with God. Does this mean that everyone has to become a born-again Christian in order to be good, or to be a better person. And really, Gentle Reader, how the hell would I know! Even if I strive to be a better person, my success is, to sound optimistic, rather mixed, and this isn't because Jesus isn't doing his job by me, but rather, I don't always pull my part that well or successfully. I have nothing further to say here, and absolutely squat to offer about people of other faiths or atheists, or people who wear tin foil hats. Not out of politeness, but because I really do not know.
I can only start with where I am, with who I am. So, here is what I am trying to do,in order to be a better person. First of all, I acknowledge that I cannot do this alone. I need God, and I need a supportive community that will hold me accountable. I do have some pretty good friends, even if my church is a bit of a basketcase, so I could still be off to a good start.
There are two events this morning that just might help us answer the question, Gentle Reader. I was just out on a quest for toilet paper, a scarce commodity these days with a lot of selfish and anxious people buying it up in warehouse size batches and hoarding it. By the way, have I mentioned lately that people who are selfish are more than likely to be fearful and vice versa? Don't ask me which comes first, I think it's chicken and egg. But fear and selfishness seem to come out of the same dark, bottomless and stinking pit of the shadowside of our humanity.
This morning on the CBC I heard someone underline the importance of vulnerability, that being vulnerable is not weakness, but strength, and that in order to do anything courageous then we are also making ourselves vulnerable and by extension, emotionally naked. Such was my experience while in Colombia and God was tearing my heart open. I will offer here a sampling of an email I wrote last night to my friend who hosted me there,
Here it is in Spanish. I will also provide translation, with a couple of names removed to protect people's privacy and also to keep my friend from getting mad at me:
El amor es incondicional, cual es para decir, no hay ningunas expectativas. Tu eres la persona que fue hierramento de Dios de abrir mi corazón, por eso el amor muy fuerte que brota de mi alma, para ti, y para todo: tus amigos, tu hermano, la familia venezolana pidiendo limosnas en Madrid, las dos mamás con sus bebes mendigando en Poblado, la dama en el metro de cable, el zapatero, los dos papás con sus crías en sus brazos pidiendo socorros en Bogotá, la gente de mi propia ciudad, y otra vez a usted, mi hermano. El amor verdadero no nos esclaviza, sino nos libre, no se confina a una sola persona, sino se despliega, como agua, como fuego hasta todos los habitantes de la tierra.
Love is unconditional, which is to say, there are no expectations. You are the person whom God used to open my heart, and this explains the very strong love that flourishes in my heart, for you, and for your brother, your friends, for the Venezuelan family begging in Madrid Cundinamarca, the two mothers with their babies begging in Poblado (a wealthy neighbourhood in Medellín), the lady in the cable car, the shoe shineer, the two fathers with their two young children in their arms begging in Bogotá, the people in my own city, and again, you, my brother. True love does not enslave us, instead it liberates us. It isn't confined to one single person, but it spreads, like water, like fire, spreading to all the inhabitants of the earth.
As well as the importance of becoming vulnerable, today, this morning, there were the small daily steps I had to take in my quest for some toilet paper. On the way, there were people to navigate around. Where possible, I would smile or say hi to people, and always try to make room for them to feel safe and comfortable. In the stores, I was polite,and cheerful and humourous with store help. And grateful. Yes, these small steps might seem insignificant, but they are not. And they can be the hardest work we are going to end up doing during the course of a day in order to be not just civil, but kind and loving towards others. And this is what makes us ready for the bigger tasks that are going to be looming before us. And this is how we are also going to help change the world, being courageous, being vulnerable and being kind, one step at a time..
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