Notice the Plank

It's easy to tell others "before criticizing the mote in your neighbor's eye, remove the plank from your own." It's harder to do ourselves. In fact, in my experience "plank" seems like like the perfect metaphor because this New Testament aphorism is so easily used as a sort of verbal bludgeon to shut someone else up. And I'm sure I've been guilty myself.

Though the exhortation is clear, the strategy to live that way is less so. Living a godly life and loving one's neighbor are great goals. But, for me at least, they are not the tools that move me closer day by day. For those tools, I draw on the ideas in Buddhist meditation practice. In meditation we seek to silence the "monkey mind" that takes over our inner self when we sit in silence. It's not easy. I'm not sure I've ever done it. But the standard direction on getting there is something to the effect of "if your mind drifts, notice that and gently bring your attention back to the present moment."

Take a moment and re-read that last sentence if you will.

It seems to me, some of the current conversation about race, privilege, opportunity, and justice in the US can be seen as a national call to this sort of meditation. We are being asked to focus for a sustained period of time on the feelings of injustice and alienation felt by segments of our society. And we are tempted to feed our monkey minds. We are tempted to rage and scream and rally the troops to our side.

That is not the meditation we need. Gently invite your mind to back to the present moment. Extend a sympathetic thought to those who share this nation and this world with you. If you read a post that you disagree with, notice any anger you might feel. Give yourself permission to have those feelings, then set them aside.

Later, you can decide if you really must respond. Later you can think about how to respond in a way that brings more love, more peace, more justice to the world. In that one instant, read the post, notice your anger. Then return to the moment at hand and the great gift you have be given - to share a connection with another person.

This, to me, is the grievous harm of too much re-posting. I write this and I read your comments with the hope of making a connection with you, my friends, as individuals. Not to Kevin Bacon or whoever else six degrees away wrote the post. Of course, as a way to share news, re-posting makes perfect sense. And I will allow myself one public re-post per day. But as a way to amplify our anger and outrage, it is toxic to our souls and to our democracy.