Broken and Burning (October 5, 2006)

I recently subscribed to a newletter for the local Unitarian Universalist Society. In the most recent mailing the Minister (Sean) wrote a bit on being broken. I liked it and thought I would post it here:

Brokenness

Some of you may be a bit surprised at this month's "Word of the Month". This is the first time we've tried a word that isn't itself inspirational and positive. Instead, we've decided to acknowledge a reality that is important, but harder to face. Our month-long focus on brokenness will explore our own imperfections, the dangerous state of our world, and the degradation of our environment. All of these are refections of brokeness.

One of the tasks of any religion, philosophy, or spiritual practice is to help individual cope with brokenness and disappointment. Our lives are not perfect. We are not perfect. This world is not perfec. We will face sorrow, loss, and pain. We are all witnessess, even if only through the media, to war, genocide, slavery, and greed. As optimistic as we progressives can be, we cannot deny that much is broken.

To deny that there is much pain and opression in the world is in fact, dangerous. Remaining ignorant or indefferent to suffering not only allows it to continue, but keeps us from developing key parts of our humanity; the longing for justice, the urge to help make things better, and simple decency and compassion. As the Buddah learned, to be protected from suffering is to be kept from enlightenment.

Joanna Macy, ecologist, Buddhist, systems theorist, and tearcher, describes this as "the ditch of apathy, of withdrawl, a numb, dumb enactment of life as usual, business as usual, a kind of inner exile." She also says, "If we won't feel pain, we won't feel much else either --both loves and losses are less intense, the sky less vivid, pleasures muted."

Our focus on brokenness is a time to let ourselves feel the loss, grief and pains of our lives and our world. It is a time to remember how much we love life; how much we long for justice; how much we want to be a part of a revolution of kindness, fairness, compassion, justice, and peace.

"Seized by the power of a great affection" is a Baptist term Gordon Cosby began using twenty years ago. "We go numb," he said, "in the midst of a society filled with violence, and we need -- in the face of that numbness-- to be so moved that we break through to a place of divine power. It is divine energy living inside each of us that can speak truth to power, divine energy that we as a community can enable in each of us, divine energy that the world needs."

It is my hope that by giving our attention to what is brokern, we will find ourselves "seized by the power of a great affection" for life, for each other, for this community, and for our world... It is my hope that this "Word of the Month" will help us do what Unitarian minister A. Powell Davies said was the real aim of life, "to grow a soul."