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If you want to get anywhere or change anything, you have to start with yourself. My friend Sinead ignored that starting point, as so many of us do.
When Sinead got together with her man Connor, she was about 20, and he was brilliant but troubled. She got off her academic track and devoted most of her time to taking care of him, protecting him from the world and soothing his fears. She said it got to where, “There wasn’t much me left. I was so involved in making things OK for him.”
They did pretty well together for 15 years and made quite a bit of money in tech, but Connor didn’t learn to manage his fears. One day, they overflowed and he started beating Sinead brutally. After he knocked her to the floor and started kicking her, she says, “A wave of clarity came over me. I realized I had been trying to save him out of fear, and I decided, I’m not going to do that anymore. I’m going to act out of love. I stood up. I walked out.”
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The really key phrase here is Lighthawk’s “as long as you understand that your way is not the only way.” It is very difficult for anyone who thinks s/he has something to offer to value the other’s approach.
It is written, “God is Love”, and, “Mercy triumphs over judgement”. We must all serve a master. Whom do you serve this day?
David, I really love this reflection!
The Lebanese film is reminiscent of what just happened in Kenya.
You may have heard about it.
Muslim women gave their Hijabs to Christian women to wear when they were attacked by Al Shabab.
They told the attackers that if you attack them then you kill all of us.
Thank you for sharing your insights.
So loving, so true. Thank you for these insights and reminders.