đą
â[In] the world we live in, it's easy to feel a sense of hopelessness, that everything is all bad all the time, that nothing is going to change ever, that people are evil and bad at the bottom. It feels sometimes that it's being proven in various different ways, so I really get that. I understand why people feel that way. I just choose differently. I choose to think a different way, and I choose to act in a different way. I choose to trust people until they prove themselves untrustworthy.
âJim Wallace, who people know as a liberal Evangelical, who thinks about faith a lot and talks about faith a lot, he always talks about the fact that hope is really believing in spite of the evidence and watching the evidence change. And that, to me, makes total sense. I believe ultimately that we're going to win, because I believe there are more people who want justice, real justice, than there are those who are working against that.â
â Mariame Kaba
21h ago
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I do think that large scale war is more possible than it has ever been in our lifetimes. There's a powder keg feel to much of it. Towering empires, armed and empowered.
This thing that many western nations have experiencedâseveral generations of peaceâis a luxury, maybe even a historical anomaly.
Neither you or I (as far as I know) have our hands on the levers of power or command armies with our decrees.
But we aren't powerless. And one of my biggest concerns is the hallowing out of care for our communities.
Of course it starts with our own hearts:
Are there particular people groups that I'd like to see "get what's coming to them"?
We know that marginalizing people based on race and ethnicity and class and nationality is bad. But what about those people whose religion we think is narrow and harmful? Whose beliefs are wacky? Or who support causes we find offensive?
Do we find ourselves justified in wanting them to suffer because of what they think or say or which political faction they support?
â that's a dangerous place to live.
As an American who pays attention to the historical record, I can see that since its founding, my country has been marked by compromise, national sin, and perpetration of injustice. But I can also see that there have been timesâaround the second world war, for instanceâwhen we were a force for global good: pushing back waves of fascism. That was only possible because of a willful working together among the people.
And "together among the people" seems to be a great area of vulnerabilityâ"a house divided cannot stand"âand also the opportunity space where each of us can influence our communities for the better.
My challenge to me: show kindness and love to someone whose beliefs I dislike.
Jun 17, 2025
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Feb 1, 2025
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Iâm not a parent and do not plan to be. Kids can wear me out fast with their high energy and noise level; it leaves me very over-stimulated. But itâs pretty extreme when people say they âhate kidsâ and I often feel itâs a reflection of their childhood and beliefs around how kids âshould be.â That they were expected to be quiet, obedient, and out of the way by their parents when they were little.
Itâs fucking hard to be a kid. Youâre dealing with a rapidly-changing body and underdeveloped brain, managed by flawed adults who are enforcing boundaries that you do not understand. Itâs confusing and hard to manage your feelings and honestly just a lot.
People are impatient with kids when theyâre brand new to the world and figuring it all out, and this is a time kids need a friend the most. Children can also be teachers to adults with how they are less habituated to the world. They teach us how to be free and open-hearted and silly and imaginative.
A good practice is to be kinder and gentler with kids. If that feels difficult, start with gentleness toward your inner child. Maybe thatâs the child in your life that needs your attention and kindness most.
Apr 16, 2025
May 6, 2025
I meant to post this yesterday. Absolutely beautiful morning for walk.
This morning is also beautiful but in a spring rain kind of way.
Mar 23, 2025