Sunday 19 February 2006

Widening Our Circles

In the sixties Paul Simon sardonically wrote and sang:
I have no need of friendship
friendship causes pain
Its laughter and its loving I disdain
...
I touch no one and no one touches me.

I am a rock, I am an island
And a rock feels no pain, and an island never cries.
Of course, no one is truly an island, yet there is no denying that widening our circles of friendship and love does invite more pain into our lives. This weekend, my own beloved community experienced the brutal shock of that truth as two were lost to senseless tragedy and two more injured and orphaned. We could shrink into our shells in a futile attempt to insulate ourselves from further pain, but no instead we reach out and invite even more. For it is within our beloved communities that we find healing, which is so much more important than the avoidance of pain. In faith we widen our circles even further. As one of those so tragically taken from us said two years ago:
We all have the power to create a positive life. When you look within and find the glimmerings of what brings you energy and joy, say yes to those inklings, even though you don’t know where that path will take you. Faith and trust are qualities we must all embrace if we are to hear our directions from God or our guiding spirit.
The wounds from two such positive lives ended far too soon will not heal quickly for the very many souls whom they have touched. But they will be best honored if, in time, we can say yes to those glimmerings, those inklings, to joy and to hope.

Goodbye Ken
Goodbye Kathy

4 comments:

Julie Leung said...

Thank you, Walker. I've seen what you've written about Kathy and Ken at a couple different sites and I've been moved by your memories. I'm sorry I didn't know them. Hugs to you and your family.

rev. billy bob gisher ©2008 said...

after the respects and the dust settles. live. life is a gift.

The works of Dllee said...

i am truly sorry to hear of your lost.i too have experience such loss. just hold on tight to each other. if you need to talk my door is always open.

Scottage said...

This is a great site, and while I have been reading it I have been continually impressed with your puh not just to point out issues, but to find the positive path within them. I have too often gotten mired down in the negative life offers, and have missed teh great things life is offering every day.

This post in particular is filled with hope. The fact that you choose to start out with the I Am A Rock, a true song about isolation for safety, and move to such a powerful quotation about faith really tells the tale of why your site is so unique, and why it touched me.

I lived in Israel for nearly 7 years, and lost many friends to the senseless violence in the region. Yet continually I strove to remember that we are living a cycle of life, and that only death completes that cycle.

In that society, as in so many others, we are continually challenged to remember that these deaths, which seem so pointless, may one day lead us to a better tomorrow. And that is the hope I look to, and the hope you show in this post. Thank you for your great words.

BTW, do you post anymore? If so, please contact me, I would like to talk to you about working on something together. You're writing is fantastic.