What Is

“If you want to be holy, be kind.”
Frederick Buechner

I learned something in prison that will benefit us.

In the early days of going in, I was so aware of injustice, harshness, cruelty that my overwhelming emotion was anger, which, of course, got in the way of the reason I went into prison in the first place. Who needs more anger?

The lesson I learned is to discern “what is” in the prison culture and then to bring the best of me to that culture—listen, listen, love, love.

Well, we just had a very important election. Some of us are happy and some are unhappy, even angry or discouraged..

I acknowledge that we must give our emotions time to express themselves but at some point, we must discern “what is” and then bring the best of us to our spouses, partners, children, grandchildren, friends, associates. Even those whom we judge harshly.

Martin Luther King defined agape love as willingness to serve without the desire for reciprocation, willingness to suffer without the desire for retaliation, and willingness to reconcile without the desire for domination.

The results of the election give us all the opportunity to practice agape love—to try, to fall, to try again, to fall again, to try again.