Fighting the Good Fight

 

I often find myself in a cycle when it comes to sharing political content online. Initially, I feel strongly compelled to post about issues I care deeply about and engage in the discussions. However, after a while, my own posts can become overwhelming and a source of anxiety due to the often divisive and upsetting nature of online political discourse. 

This leads me to eventually delete those very posts. It's crucial to understand that this isn't because my convictions have weakened or because I'm afraid to express my political views – quite the opposite. My desire to share comes from a genuine place of wanting to make my voice heard. However, I've also made a conscious decision to curate my social media into a space that offers a counter-narrative to the negativity and anger that can easily dominate online interactions. 

The world can feel saturated with hurtful news and conflict, and my hope is that my corner of the internet can be a place where light, hope, refreshment, and love can prevail. I firmly believe in 'fighting the good fight' and staying engaged with important issues, but for me, that fight looks less like constant public debate on my personal feed and more like actively nurturing a positive environment, both for my own well-being and for those who connect with me here. It's about contributing to the good in a different way, by offering a space for respite and encouragement amidst the often turbulent online landscape.

Crucially, I want to emphasize that I hold absolutely no judgment for those who choose to engage with political issues online in a more direct or consistent manner. I understand and respect that there are many valid and necessary ways to advocate for change and make one's voice heard. My approach is simply what feels most sustainable and beneficial for my own mental well-being and the kind of online space I personally wish to cultivate. We are all navigating this complex world and the digital landscape in our own ways, and I believe that diverse approaches to engagement are ultimately valuable.

Love,

+Brian

AnneLynn

Her self-described happiest moment. 

If you are triggered by sad stories or the topic of suicide, skip this  post.  This is just such a story about a friend, near and dear to my heart.

It was 36 years ago today on February 21, 1989 that my dearest friend in the whole wide world committed suicide.  Her name was AnneLynn. I remember her every year on this day and if truth be told sometimes every day. While I accept it, I have never gotten over her suicide.

The year was 1989.  I had last heard from her in a Christmas card where she said she needed some time and space away from people and cats. (She cared for three indoor Abyssinians and a whole tassel of outdoor strays.)  In her letter she quipped, "this season may kill me."  I took it as hyperbole but made a mental note to give her some space.  That was in December. She killed herself two months later.

I was so young, a sophomore in college and she was much older than I and yet my world revolved around our friendship.  She was the first person in my life who I felt saw me and with whom I connected on a deeply spiritual level.  I miss her every day but most of all, on this day. 

I watch a  popular movie staring Robin Williams every year on this day, "What Dreams May Come" and I think of her.

In the movie "What Dreams May Come," Chris Nielsen's wife, Annie, commits suicide after struggling with the loss of their children. Chris, who has already died and gone to heaven, learns that Annie is in hell, a realm created by her own pain and despair. Determined to rescue her, Chris embarks on a perilous journey to hell, guided by his friend Albert.   

Chris's descent into hell is a an emotionally harrowing experience. He navigates through a dark and twisted landscape, confronting the manifestations of Annie's anguish. He eventually finds her in a catatonic state, trapped in her self-created prison of sorrow.

Despite the warnings that no one can leave hell, Chris refuses to give up. He uses his love and memories of their life together to try and reach Annie, to break through the walls of her despair. In a climactic moment, Chris makes a profound choice: he decides to stay with Annie in hell, accepting her fate, rather than live without her in heaven. This act of selfless love ultimately breaks through Annie's despair, allowing her to recognize Chris and escape hell with him.

I don't believe that the loving God I have come to know sends people who suicide to hell but I do believe that people who suicide are sometimes living in a kind of a hell and can't find their way out of it.

If when I die I discover she is in hell.  Then I will go there myself to rescue her and if I can't rescue her, I will stay with her.  Until then I remember, I pray, and I lean on the compassion and love of my God.

The Beginning of Love

 

"The beginning of love is the will to let those we love be perfectly themselves, the resolution not to twist them to fit our own image.  If in loving them we do not love what they are, but only their potential likeness to ourselves, then we do not love them: we only love the reflection of ourselves we find in them." - Thomas Merton

I Want To Know What It's Like

I was so moved by this that I wanted to draw particular attention to it on To Love So Well The World.

This video is a reminder that we live in the Land of the Brave and the Home of the Mostly Free.

When will we determine that the rights observed for some should be observed for all?

Writing Rock Talk

Writing Rock Talk

By Brian Ernest Brown
6 June 1991

The wind rocks
the trees to talk
as I sit on the rock
colored with chalk
of loves crock
now we talk...

She offers,
“let us write
of our plight
of what’s wrong and right
in a poets sight tonight.”

I think,
I can’t write
on command
putting together words that band
like pearls in a strand
that rhyme and make sense!

The Not Quite Dead Yet Poet’s Society
will eventually come to notoriety
some may call this piety
I call it Writing Rock Talk!

Charter For Compassion

Compassion is in short supply these days and is sorely needed in every aspect of our lives. Sadly it is often lacking most in our churches and seldom expressed through our faith. Please join me in signing the Charter for Compassion and during this new year let compassion be a clear expression in your life while also reflecting it in the lives of those around you.

 If you do nothing else today, please visit the Charter For Compassion.