Intra
A friend recently asked me what I wanted to have accomplished by the time I die. While pondering some of my greatest passions, I realized a common theme- they are about reconciliation.
I believe that we, along with being reconciled to ourselves, must be reconciled to:
• The Divine or Creator
• Our Neighbors
• Our Environment
• The Global Community
When we think of reconciliation, many of us think of finding peaceful solutions to the world’s most violent conflicts. But there is a larger need for reconciliation. Reconciliation, according to Webster is: to bring into agreement or harmony; make compatible: to reconcile accounts.
I believe being out of harmony with ourselves and the world around us has consequences beyond what is immediately evident to us.
When we fail to give ourselves space and time for introspection and silence, we can easily brush over what we know to be true in our inmost being. When we do not understand where our food comes from, we do not appreciate or respect the land needed to create it. When we do not see the face of the person who made our shirt, we can easily ignore that they may be working as a slave laborer. When we do not know our neighbor’s name, we can dismiss their and our need for human connection and support.
Living in harmony with ourselves and the world around us is not always an easy task. It takes thought and action. It means looking at the connections between things, and not simply accepting the status quo.
I believe we must work towards reconciliation by addressing the imbalances of power and wealth that arise from unjust systems that are often perpetuated by the ignorance and apathy of those who have the power to change the structure.
It’s about you and me deciding to participate.
There are millions of ways that we can engage the world around us. It’s about being willing to see the positive and negative consequences of our habits on those around us- and about being willing to change.
None of us know how long we will live. I hope that over the years I do have, I can make an impact and leave this earth knowing that I did my best to live a reconciled life.