My handsome nephew...

Miles Eugene Leet

multicultural and diversity...my lack of awareness

People are hated; people hate themselves; people hate others

Each week after reading through the assigned articles for my ethics class I am overwhelmed with the question, “Can I do this work?” I am reminded of the accountability that this profession asks of me. To not only reflect on my own personal experiences but also the core of how I have come to believe certain things of God, humanity, and myself.

Just the other night, my husband and I were having a conversation with a bi-racial couple over the word nigger. Even typing the word is uncomfortable for me. I was beyond grateful that we were able to have a conversation, as I gained insight with my friends. Yet in the moment I realized how I had not embraced and recognized my friend’s black identity. I suppose I could say that I had a sobering moment where our differences were acknowledge. Though I can say that our differences of skin color and all the experiences that come with that has never gotten in the way of our friendship, I see my failure in not recognizing how different we have experienced life because of this truth.

In my attempt to become aware of my own cultural values and biases, I have become more aware of my naivety as well. My husband and I intentionally moved into a diverse neighborhood in Tacoma, only to realize our impact and influence in the process of gentrification. I have so much to learn and I think this may only come from being in relationship with who see the world differently. De La Torre’s writes about this well that “Relationships with each other, and God, become a source for moral guidance, capable of debunking the social structures erected and subsequently normalized by the dominant culture.”

After this week, I am struggling with the realm of the unspeakable around me. As I get in touch with how others hate me, how I hate myself, and how I hate others, I am hopeful for the opportunities that may come about. I am beginning to understand the kinds of hate I am most familiar with and what is beneath that scares the shit out of me. I pray that this reflective work helps to stretch my capacity, as White puts it, to bear witness with others in helping them find a way to survive being hated and hating.

“The very identity of those claiming to be Christian becomes defined by their relationship to their God and to their neighbor.”

Wild Geese ~ Mary Oliver

One of my beautiful friends from school shared this Mary Oliver poem with a group of us last week. Which reminded me of reading Mary with another dear friend. We are meant to live life with others. We are not meant to be alone. Though loneliness seems to be close by, I must remember that I am not alone. Like Mary writes...we all have a place in the family of things!

Wild Geese

You do not have to be good.
You do not have to walk on your knees
for a hundred miles through the desert, repenting.
You only have to let the soft animal of your body
love what it loves.
Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine.
Meanwhile the world goes on.
Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain
are moving across the landscapes,
over the prairies and the deep trees,
the mountains and the rivers.
Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air,
are heading home again.
Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,
the world offers itself to your imagination,
calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting--
over and over announcing your place
in the family of things.

~Mary Oliver

why do you believe what you believe?

“Relationships with each other, and God, become a source for moral guidance, capable of debunking the social structures erected and subsequently normalized by the dominant culture.”

when a new one comes along...

Change. Transition. I have been thinking about my niece lately and what her world may be like with a new little brother. There is something very beautiful about watching this family grow as these two parents give their best effort to love these little ones. Miles and Alexis, brother and sister. I can only imagine the adventures these two siblings have ahead of them.