All the good in the world
Oct. 22nd, 2004 04:07 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sun_set_bravelyIt's easy to feel hopeless about the state of humanity when you know even a little bit of our sad history. My emotions this week have run the gamut of pessimism and optimism. On Tuesday, I attended a class where we discussed the My Lai massacre in Vietnam in 1968, and watched clips from "Hearts and Minds" that broke my heart. Yesterday, I watched "Osama," a quiet film about a young girl under Taliban rule. It was the first film made in Afghanistan after the Taliban fell, and it is sparse, sad, and unsparing. I've wondered seriously if redemption or grace is in the cards for this human race that I belong to. I've wept for all the lives lost, and the ones who took them.
But today, I've been calling people in Chicago to tell them about the Woodhull retreat, and to give out a few scholarships for women who can't afford it. I've been calling groups like the Genesis House, an organization that helps sex workers make a free choice about their situation without judging them. I've spoken to The Enterprising Kitchen, a store that employs "hard to employ" women (homeless, women with substance abuse histories), and gives them work and life skills, and a paycheck every week. There's the International Women's Associates, an organization made up of 18 cultural groups, whose goal is to bridge the gap between cultures. There's the Primo Women's Center, a transitional shelter for women just out of prison. There's the Al Bayt Al-Iraqi, or the Iraqi House, which has a women's program to help Iraqi women new to this country become active in their communities. There's Affinity, a black lesbian community and empowerment center. I could go on and on.
My heart is full of all the good work that these groups are doing. There are a million ways to help, and there are people giving that help. It's good to remember this, that I'm not alone in my work. And at the end of the day, my soul knows that there are atrocities in the world, happening even as I type these words, and there are also millions of people working across all divides to make peace, to repair what has been torn, to create the bright future they dream about. And that's the way the world is. There is good, and there is bad, and it just is.
And at the end of the day, after all of my thinking, I climb up the ladder into bed with my partner in crime, life, love, justice, and cooking. I'm so grateful for that comfort, that solid heartbeat, in the midst of all of this howling humanity. I wish the same for everyone. To feel beloved on this earth.
Have a great weekend, all.
But today, I've been calling people in Chicago to tell them about the Woodhull retreat, and to give out a few scholarships for women who can't afford it. I've been calling groups like the Genesis House, an organization that helps sex workers make a free choice about their situation without judging them. I've spoken to The Enterprising Kitchen, a store that employs "hard to employ" women (homeless, women with substance abuse histories), and gives them work and life skills, and a paycheck every week. There's the International Women's Associates, an organization made up of 18 cultural groups, whose goal is to bridge the gap between cultures. There's the Primo Women's Center, a transitional shelter for women just out of prison. There's the Al Bayt Al-Iraqi, or the Iraqi House, which has a women's program to help Iraqi women new to this country become active in their communities. There's Affinity, a black lesbian community and empowerment center. I could go on and on.
My heart is full of all the good work that these groups are doing. There are a million ways to help, and there are people giving that help. It's good to remember this, that I'm not alone in my work. And at the end of the day, my soul knows that there are atrocities in the world, happening even as I type these words, and there are also millions of people working across all divides to make peace, to repair what has been torn, to create the bright future they dream about. And that's the way the world is. There is good, and there is bad, and it just is.
And at the end of the day, after all of my thinking, I climb up the ladder into bed with my partner in crime, life, love, justice, and cooking. I'm so grateful for that comfort, that solid heartbeat, in the midst of all of this howling humanity. I wish the same for everyone. To feel beloved on this earth.
Have a great weekend, all.
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no subject
Date: 2004-10-22 11:34 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-10-23 01:14 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-10-23 02:55 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-10-23 04:08 am (UTC)there are so many people in this world... the best thing you can do is take care of yourself. the next best thing is to look after your neighbor...