The phrase “Keep Calm and Carry On” emerged prominently on mugs and t-shirts during the “Downton Abbey era” and provided good guidance. Those five words are not an invitation to be disengaged, but rather to breathe and do what we can. It could also be, by extension, an invitation to be a little kinder, even when the world becomes a little less kind. We can choose to be the driver who lets someone in the cue, even if we are being cursed out for doing so by those behind us. We can be the person who initiates helping another with a heavy load or lifting a suitcase into the baggage compartment for a fellow passenger. We can choose to be the person who smiles and says, “Hello” to someone. There are so many lonely people out there and your recognition of their existence could be just what they need that day. It may seem so little, but life can be filled with small and beautiful gifts.
There is the classic Rudyard Kipling poem, “If,” that many of us had to memorize when we were in high school – and what a gift it is to have poems stored in one’s memory from which to draw. In case you do not have it in your brain memory, look it up on your external memory device. It begins with that famous line, “If you can keep your head when all about you / are losing theirs and blaming it on you…” The poem is loaded with so much wisdom and so many good reminders as we enter, yet again, the extreme intensity of another political cycle. (Goodness knows, we both miss the relatively boring political cycles. However, that is not where we are at this time.) It is so easy and understandable to disengage and step away from the chaos. Some people have said that they just do not read the news anymore and some people take refuge in statements such as, “Well, they (politicians) are all corrupt and it does not matter what happens.” As firm believers in the imperative to be engaged citizens, regardless of one’s political preferences, we love the “Read, Think, Vote” sign that is popping up. If we read widely, take time to think, and then cast our vote, we have taken responsibility as thoughtful citizens. If we keep calm and carry on, there is hope.
There is a great book published in late 2023 by Richard Haass titled, The Bill of Obligations: The Ten Habits of Good Citizens. Haass has outstanding credentials on both sides of the aisle. In this short book, he encourages us to consider that The Bill of Rights comes with obligations. Do read the book and/or listen to him read it on Audible. His discussion of the ten obligations is compelling:
1. Be informed
2. Get involved
3. Stay open to compromise
4. Remain civil
5. Reject violence
6. Value norms
7. Promote the common good
8. Respect government service
9. Support the teaching of civics
10. Put country first
We highly recommend the ten above practices of Haass along with some of our suggestions:
1. Take time to breathe and be in nature (Linda will be offering guided forest therapy walks over the next several months; email her if interested.)
2. Recognize that the sun, moon, and stars have seen so much and they remain.
3. Life is full of wonderful people; embrace them.
4. Never forget that we share a love of dogs, cats, BBQ, beer, wine, bourbon, laughter, whatever, with those with whom we may disagree on issues. (If you are an animal lover, you’re okay with us.)
5. Never miss an opportunity to be nice; courtesy matters especially when a person may have a bumper sticker that suggests you do not think similarly on some issues. (Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. advised John Lewis about those who hated them, “You have to love the hell out of them.”)
6. Remember that none of us will be here forever, so we might as well be kind.
7. Act with compassion, knowing we never know what “that jerk” might be going through.
8. Try to understand the world from the viewpoint of others; you do not have to accept their view – just try to understand it.
9. If you want to sway someone’s political point of view, just be nice to them and leave it at that.
10. Stay involved but stay loving. If all of us were more loving, the world would be a better place.
There is that old song, “Let There Be Peace on Earth,” that many of us learned as kids. The song was by Jill Jackson-Miller and Sy Miller in 1955 and written after Jill had been suicidal secondary to the end of her marriage to Felix Jackson. She said that she experienced “the life-saving joy of God’s peace and unconditional love” and the song emerged from that. Perhaps the most important line in the song is this: “Let it begin with me.” This is an invitation to be a peacemaker in a world that can sometimes feel like one on the desperate edge of all-out war. We are not praying for peace; we are bringing peace.
Going back to Kipling, so much of his advice is about keeping calm and carrying on. This can become a practice, a way of being that is good for ourselves and for others. A lot of people may lose their cool under the stress of the coming months (and that may include all of us), but we can always regain our composure and realize that the way to health as individuals and as a country is through keeping our heads, our hearts, our souls in alignment especially when everything seems quite out of alignment.
Exercise: Some of us do well to have inspiring messages around our homes to remind us to take the internal and/or external tension down a bit. These may be religious or secular in nature. Think about the practices you want to put in place over the coming months. You may want to carry some of them forward for a while after this election season. Will you do some calming exercises? Will you take a quick walk outside? Will you read and journal more? Will you just make sure to do a few loving acts of kindness toward others, especially those possibly outside of your “tribe?” Write some notes to yourself and leave them in a few good places to remind you to be a source of peace in this world.
In closing, recall the wonderful prayer of St. Francis: “Lord, make me an instrument of your peace: where there is hatred, let me sow your love…” Remember, it is aspirational. We will all fail in this journey, but we can always get up again. And so, then we back up the prayer of St. Francis with Chumbawamba: “I get knocked down, but I get up again.”
Keep the faith and keep moving forward in love for all…and, yes, that means all and that includes you,
Jim and Linda
P.S. If you would like to take a few minutes to watch something sweet and something beautiful, please check out these links. The first is from an interview of Sir Ian McKellan with hosts John Bishop and Tony Pitts:
The second is one of those beautiful endings from CBS Sunday Morning. This is from the Great Smoky Mountains:
* Ka-tet - A group of people bound together by ka (destiny) for a sense of purpose. Credit: Stephen King from his novel, The Gunslinger.
TEO Ka-tet is the property of James Burke and Linda Pierce operating as TEOconsulting, LLC
https://teoconsulting.org/
A friend of mine does a podcast called "Spiritual Geography" and her current 3-part podcast is about "When Spirituality Harms." She asks two questions each time she is discussing a topic or someone's beliefs. "Are their beliefs life-giving to them and do their beliefs hurt them or anyone else?" It strikes me that we could all use a little more time to think on that before we dive into judging someone else or yelling at the guy who just cut me off in traffic (guilty!) We really have no idea what is going on with them and I have been the guy cutting people off trying to get to my parents because one of them was in the hospital. It's easier some days than others, but like any muscle, if you exercise it enough, it becomes muscle memory.
Like so many things though, even though we know its good for us or for others, we sometimes can't seem to keep it going. It's hard to get the world to slow down so that we can take a moment to reflect and "find our true selves" again. We get caught up in the rhetoric, we let ourselves get baited (and didn't we see a great example of that last week!), we let someone ruin our day so we decide to pass it on, etc. etc. etc. Like some horrible death spiral. It just takes a minute to stop, reflect, and find your good self again before moving on, yet we forget to do it. It reminds me of when two eagles are fighting over territory. They will lock talons and spiral downward. I have seen video where they actually hit the ground because they are so intent on each other. Seems like a perfect metaphor for how unchecked aggression can lead to a serious finish!
I loved the link with Sir Ian McKellan. If we'd just lead with "love" wouldn't the world be a nicer place? How can a conversation go sideways when you lead with love?
Peace!