Space For God

Response to Dave's Wall

Posted: 23/05/2007


I am still getting the hang of this blog thing. I thought I would repost my response to Dave's blog here so there are many places for conversation. Is this a good idea?

My repsonse to Dave's Post- Chipping Away at the Bricks in the Wall (also posted as a a thread on Dave's blog)

I am sorry I missed Space for God on Sunday. The wall of technology and distance was too hard when I was up in the wilds of Donegal. I am, however, deeply moved by Dave’s descriptions. I think the Zaccheus story definitely has a lot to teach us. When I was in Canada I met a man, Chris, who had spent time at L'Arche in Cape Breton Island. That was my first experience of a L'Arche community and it profoundly affected me. What Chris had learnt in his time at L'Arche, and what he helped me to realise is the very realisation Dave speaks about in this post. He helped me to understand that engaging with others requires conversation and even communion with those who oppress others, as well as those parts of ourselves which aim to judge and condemn.
 
This played out practically when I became part of a group running a conference on Access to Education, I had to continually put this idea into practice. When I engaged with the right-wing, budget oriented university administration, in a climate of fear and suspicion of anyone who looked like a radical (late 2001), I had to connect to people I did not understand and who were alien to me and to my ideas. I had to engage with people who were doing things I hated, and I had to not slip into judgement, condemnation and ridicule. It was very difficult, but it paid off every time. I learnt to my shame, how I reinforced the separation between “right-wing” and “left-wing”, between “welfare” and “economics”, between “administration” and “free thought”, between “nice people” and “bad people”, everyday, to  my loss, and to the detriment of everything I stood for. It was a humbling experience. When I approached people in true dialogue, even if they sat in positions of power, with no vested interest to engage with me or my ideas, change became possible. Sometimes major changes occurred. Other times I suddenly realised some of these people were desperately afraid, broken or isolated. Some people were disabled in the way they had never learnt empathy, free thought or been given the love and support I take for granted in my life. (How easy it is to complain that others don’t think about society, when you speak from the position of a member of a loving family or community, or from someone with access to the life changing experience of travel, education or from being born with a natural talent for thinking outside the square. Others do not have these opportunities and their world is very narrow indeed.)
 
Other people simply disagreed with me, and challenged me to my core, a process I am thankful for. Many times, it was my own judgement which stood in the way. Obviously I do not support selfish behaviour, and some people are so hardened and cause so much pain that they need external boundaries to contain the massive damage they cause, but regardless of other people’s behaviour, I am always learning how dangerous it is to become a wall builder. It is too easy to hate, way too easy. A wise friend of mine once said. “People have some choices as to how they act, but society has a responsibility too. We must look to our children, and to those isolated from community and love, or else we are responsible for bringing up psychopaths and then we reap their pain.”
 
Lots of love from Ireland

Bek

Got you thinking? Share your thoughts with the rest of us:

---

Name
E-mail
Your words
	Click "preview" first, then click "submit" to confirm.

---