Sunday Musings - October 22, 2023
Friendship
Recently I saw a production of the play “The Book of Will”. A couple of weeks ago I was treated to a production of the play “Somewhere over the Border”. I was able on another occasion to use the symphony tickets of friends who were going to be out of town to take a friend for another amazing performance of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. On this past weekend I received a jar of homemade vegetable soup and shared a jar of applesauce I had just made. Another friend brought me apples from the nearby Applefest. The common theme of these and other recent experiences was friendship.
As a young man I often did not prioritize friendships as well as I might have. Often, I allowed school, work and preoccupation with my own joys and disappointments to take over, thus neglecting those relationships which had kept me fed. I lost contact with many often while I was wallowing in my preoccupations with events over which I had little control or in needless focus on my doubts and obsessions; a common theme of many of us, especially when young.
Today my intention and desire is to live my life in a way which makes friendship primary; in a way which honors the reality that we are all interdependent; that we all succeed together or we fail together. Often, we create enemies out of each other. A common lesson attributed to wise teachers such as Jesus is to love our enemies which is to say that we have no enemies. “Wait a minute.”, the reader of this blog might now say. We are all daily reminded we humans violently attack each other. We attack each other individually or in groups. Just this morning I read accounts of ways that individuals had attacked neighbors or even family members with guns, dangerous drugs or with other weapons. The excuses for said behavior were often alleged religious differences or other fears. Groups and country states are, even as I type, determined to destroy each other; determined to view each other as enemies. Obviously, one can easily understand how leaders of one group or nations can come to believe that there is no other option than to see “the other” as the enemy who must be destroyed before the leaders of that group destroy one. A recent example is the reaction of the long oppressed Jewish people to being violently attacked by those who are members of Hamas. Members of Hamas view the Jewish state and people as the enemy. We know that the state of Israel was created in response to the unfathomable cruelty of the events of World Two which targeted for extinction many labeled groups including Jewish people. The targeted oppression of Jews all over the world, including in the United States, helped to fuel the killing ovens of the Third Reich. Another example is the attempt of the leaders of Russia to take over the state of Ukraine even if it means destroying the people and all that is contained in the region which compose that nation state of Ukraine. I could name many other examples of the creation of enemies and the subsequent justification for violence. Many of us humans claim there are evil people who can never be our friends or even acknowledged as humans; they are evil incarnate only masquerading as human neighbors.
Those who fight with the sword what they label as evil are frequently convinced that it may be possible to love one’s enemy but clearly not to love or allow evil to live.
We do not create enemies in a moment. There is always a long history which precedes the creation of enemies. Even in “crimes of passion” when it seems as if there is no history between individuals there is always, I believe, a history which births and feeds fear and expectation of betrayal; fear and expectation that we are not enough; that our humanity is not recognized as equally sacred or valued; that one will be discounted emotionally, financially, spiritually, medically, or in other ways. This week the city council of the city in which I am living considered an ordinance to ban unauthorized camping in the city. The intended “enemy” is the homeless who build small camps which may be composed of those who are the victims of hard times, mental illness and often a lifetime of trauma. Those of us fortunate enough to not be homeless today find the reminder we could be “those people” unpleasant and unacceptable.
There are no people who deserve the label of homeless, immigrants, enemies, evil ones, Jews, Cristian’s, Muslims. There are certainly those who are homeless; those who are attempting to escape violence including poverty, those whose heritage is Jewish, Christian, or Muslim who may worship within that tradition.
The teaching to love our enemy is a reminder to remember that beneath the labels are other human beings who may be fearful, mentally ill, or have a history of being traumatized. Peace is only possible when we see beneath the fearful acts; when we honor our common humanity; when we refuse to give others the power to create enemies. The more I age, the more I study history, the more I own my own shortcomings, the more I acknowledge that tomorrow I could be viewed as a label the more I have to acknowledge I only have this brief flame of life to live as part of a whole. We can call that whole the universe, the universes, god, or the gods.
The label of enemy separates and dehumanizes. All people are our neighbors, our brothers, sisters, cousins, and fellow travelers.
Written October 22, 2023
Jimmy F Pickett
coachpickett.org
Friendship
Recently I saw a production of the play “The Book of Will”. A couple of weeks ago I was treated to a production of the play “Somewhere over the Border”. I was able on another occasion to use the symphony tickets of friends who were going to be out of town to take a friend for another amazing performance of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. On this past weekend I received a jar of homemade vegetable soup and shared a jar of applesauce I had just made. Another friend brought me apples from the nearby Applefest. The common theme of these and other recent experiences was friendship.
As a young man I often did not prioritize friendships as well as I might have. Often, I allowed school, work and preoccupation with my own joys and disappointments to take over, thus neglecting those relationships which had kept me fed. I lost contact with many often while I was wallowing in my preoccupations with events over which I had little control or in needless focus on my doubts and obsessions; a common theme of many of us, especially when young.
Today my intention and desire is to live my life in a way which makes friendship primary; in a way which honors the reality that we are all interdependent; that we all succeed together or we fail together. Often, we create enemies out of each other. A common lesson attributed to wise teachers such as Jesus is to love our enemies which is to say that we have no enemies. “Wait a minute.”, the reader of this blog might now say. We are all daily reminded we humans violently attack each other. We attack each other individually or in groups. Just this morning I read accounts of ways that individuals had attacked neighbors or even family members with guns, dangerous drugs or with other weapons. The excuses for said behavior were often alleged religious differences or other fears. Groups and country states are, even as I type, determined to destroy each other; determined to view each other as enemies. Obviously, one can easily understand how leaders of one group or nations can come to believe that there is no other option than to see “the other” as the enemy who must be destroyed before the leaders of that group destroy one. A recent example is the reaction of the long oppressed Jewish people to being violently attacked by those who are members of Hamas. Members of Hamas view the Jewish state and people as the enemy. We know that the state of Israel was created in response to the unfathomable cruelty of the events of World Two which targeted for extinction many labeled groups including Jewish people. The targeted oppression of Jews all over the world, including in the United States, helped to fuel the killing ovens of the Third Reich. Another example is the attempt of the leaders of Russia to take over the state of Ukraine even if it means destroying the people and all that is contained in the region which compose that nation state of Ukraine. I could name many other examples of the creation of enemies and the subsequent justification for violence. Many of us humans claim there are evil people who can never be our friends or even acknowledged as humans; they are evil incarnate only masquerading as human neighbors.
Those who fight with the sword what they label as evil are frequently convinced that it may be possible to love one’s enemy but clearly not to love or allow evil to live.
We do not create enemies in a moment. There is always a long history which precedes the creation of enemies. Even in “crimes of passion” when it seems as if there is no history between individuals there is always, I believe, a history which births and feeds fear and expectation of betrayal; fear and expectation that we are not enough; that our humanity is not recognized as equally sacred or valued; that one will be discounted emotionally, financially, spiritually, medically, or in other ways. This week the city council of the city in which I am living considered an ordinance to ban unauthorized camping in the city. The intended “enemy” is the homeless who build small camps which may be composed of those who are the victims of hard times, mental illness and often a lifetime of trauma. Those of us fortunate enough to not be homeless today find the reminder we could be “those people” unpleasant and unacceptable.
There are no people who deserve the label of homeless, immigrants, enemies, evil ones, Jews, Cristian’s, Muslims. There are certainly those who are homeless; those who are attempting to escape violence including poverty, those whose heritage is Jewish, Christian, or Muslim who may worship within that tradition.
The teaching to love our enemy is a reminder to remember that beneath the labels are other human beings who may be fearful, mentally ill, or have a history of being traumatized. Peace is only possible when we see beneath the fearful acts; when we honor our common humanity; when we refuse to give others the power to create enemies. The more I age, the more I study history, the more I own my own shortcomings, the more I acknowledge that tomorrow I could be viewed as a label the more I have to acknowledge I only have this brief flame of life to live as part of a whole. We can call that whole the universe, the universes, god, or the gods.
The label of enemy separates and dehumanizes. All people are our neighbors, our brothers, sisters, cousins, and fellow travelers.
Written October 22, 2023
Jimmy F Pickett
coachpickett.org
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