CRSL Newsletter
April 11, 2022
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Let April Be a Kind Month:
A Note from Director and Chaplain, Reverend Matilda Cantwell
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Dear Friends,
Any of you who have studied literature have probably heard of American poet T. S. Eliot, author of The Wasteland, a famous poem containing a famous passage:
April is the cruelest month, breeding
Lilacs out of the dead land, mixing
Memory and desire…
In this poem, Eliot is turning on its head the literary trope of spring’s “romance,” the time of blissful encounters with new life and falling in love.
April, at least here in New England, is full of promise. Our beautiful campus can sometimes seem “romantic.” Usually, the last of the snow boulders have melted; the grass is becoming green, crocuses and then daffodils bloom. April has some days that are like previews of spring, when we take off our sweaters, burst outside to eat our lunches or soak up the sun. So, the idea of April being cruel is paradoxical, since winter is the time of hibernation and lower energy, when the snow and ice and the inconvenience and even treachery they bring can themselves more aptly be described as “cruel.”
But Eliot’s poem speaks to a reality—strangely, incidences of the onset of health problems, especially in older people, are more common in April. Research shows that depression and other emotional health issues most often reach their peak in April, rather than earlier in the year. In fact, some people report “reverse SAD” (Seasonal Affective Disorder) wherein their mood feels lower in early spring than it does in the depths of winter.
Believe it or not, there is a science behind this. Here in New England, the beautiful blossoms bring with them clouds of pollen. Even for those who don’t suffer from obvious allergies, histamines can increase inflammation in the body, and inflammation is associated with mood instability. The philosophy of ancient Chinese medicine tells us we go through a process of significant adjustment at each change of season. In this scheme, the transition from winter to spring is actually harder on the body than the shift from fall to winter. Leaves drop, organic material decomposes into the earth-this is a slow process of nestling and resting. By contrast, leaves unfolding and grass growing, flowers blooming, all create an upward drive, requiring energy from the deepest parts of each organism. In some ways, we humans are similar. Our bodies need energy to come back to life. For disabled bodies and bodies with chronic illnesses, this shift is all the more challenging. Winter can feel safe, it calls us to fold layers of warmth and protection around ourselves. Some among us say that winter matches their internal condition when they’re in a low mood, so seeing others vibrant and joyful on the first warm days reinforces a sense of alienation and loneliness.
So, let’s put this in the context of what it is like to be a college student in April. Everything is due. Finals are on the way, yet it’s not even real spring yet, and some of us are getting closer to the biggest watershed of our lives. Pandemic “mode” adjustments have exacerbated these things in disorienting ways we probably still don’t even understand. Staff and faculty as well have this atmosphere around us, and the pressure of the environment and our obligations can feel overwhelming each year, no matter how many Aprils we have had to try to get it right!
The good news is that April doesn’t last forever. May eventually comes. The struggles and griefs of April, the sometimes-herculean energy this coming back to life necessitates, is part of a process of transformation. If you walk along the Mill River right now, you can see how high the water has come from all the rain, its banks barely able to contain it; tiny green shoots dot the ends of spindly branches. Even aside from the symphony of the birds, it’s as if you can hear spring emerging.
Just as the bulbs become flowers, and the buds become leaves, we, too, can grow and blossom. And just as organic matter decomposes in the fall, our mistakes and failures and sadnesses can be like compost-rich and fertile matter- creating new knowledge, insight, and even increasing our capacity to love.
As we speak, a ghastly war rages in Ukraine. Members of our community are deeply invested or even connected to the region, and that is a huge burden to bear. Yet while the gruesome war in this western country is plastered all over the news, atrocities also play out in Pakistan, Palestine, in parts of Africa, and other regions as well; members of our communities suffer in relative quiet as the concerns of the western world take center stage. I don’t need to repeat that many of us have suffered grief after grief, the grief of the pandemic with its precipitous peaks and valleys, as racism, state violence, and the fragility of our democracy have all been laid bare, and the inequities in the healthcare system have had tragic consequences. We have lost months of connection and travel opportunities have disappeared—but more than all of that, some of us have lost loved ones, even parents and caregivers. Our increasing ability to see and understand the reach of macro and micro-traumas, already ubiquitous in poor and oppressed communities and communities of color, is expanding exponentially, creating possibilities for equity and understanding. Yet sometimes it feels these are missed opportunities.
History reveals many time periods with tremendous levels of disaster and hardship, but this is also an unprecedentedly difficult moment in the world. Many of you are living out your college years under these circumstances.
The human rights abuses, the untreated illnesses of unbridled greed and drive to subjugate other things, the earth, humans and other sentient beings, losing a member of our own community- this is all cruel. A world in which many young adults feel hopeless and lonely and unimportant, and in which a moment of turmoil can reverse hours of hope- this too is cruel.
But April doesn’t have to be. April is mobile. April is fierce. April is all about transformation. April, just like this time in the world and on our campus, is a time to hold ourselves and others in the most tender of ways, knowing how hard it is to change but how necessary. Bulbs that have been comfortable in their dormancy in the dark for months and months are perhaps satisfied and even relieved to be where they are. But if they stay there, they won’t manifest their true destiny as flowers.
If winter in New England draws us inward, then April draws us out. This may mean more vulnerability, more courage in sharing our fears and unformed thoughts with one another... It may mean that when our heart aches, rather than seeing ourselves in competition with others whose struggles may be graver than our own, we think of the ache as a special opportunity for understanding and connection. It may also mean more limits, uncoupling our ideas of who we think we are supposed to be from what we need to flourish on a given day or week. Sometimes like plants, we just need to focus on the deep work of growth, head down, resisting distraction.
T.S. Eliot’s poem, both an existential reflection and a sharp critique of the spiritual barrenness of western civilization, ends with these lines—in early modern English and then Sanskrit, respectively—which have fascinated and sometimes mystified commentators:
Why then Ile fit you. Hieronymus’s mad againe.
Datta. Dayadhvam. Damyata.
Shantih shantih shantih
Commentators say Eliot uses The Hindi mantras, Datta, Dayadhvam, Damyaya here because their pronunciation sounds like the thunder to which he is referring in this section, named “What the Thunder Says.” Perhaps another paradox—thunder can have a frightening, or cruel quality, but in fact, it is what signifies the rain that is coming to nourish the earth to bring it back to life. Shantih means peace in Sanskrit, and is used as a blessing, loosely translated as “may the peace which passes all understanding be with you.”
Some say that Eliot was bringing in eastern philosophy as a contradiction to the dualism and hierarchies of western society. That society itself is prone to meanness and destruction, but inside ourselves we have the resources for true peace, which we can then turn outward. Eliot’s evocation of memory and desire describes a sort of nostalgia, the presumption that an irrecoverable past is superior to the present. But in the natural world, spring cannot come without a full dying back of the former season, trees letting go of their leaves, flowers their petals, plants their fruits.
Maybe we can let go of petty judgments and concerns to the best of our ability, and turn our faces up to the rain that will nourish us. Maybe we can be fierce in our focus on the important transitions, those in which we grow toward kindness, and in this broken world, be the peace we wish to see.
May we let April be the kindest month.
Many Blessings,
Matilda, Anna, Kim, Maureen, and Noam
Postscript: I hope professors and students of literature approve of my reading of this poem. Botanists and Biologists, my fast and loose summation of the process of regeneration. I welcome feedback at mcantwel@smith.edu.
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Remembering and Celebrating Life of Jane Brinkley
Friday, April 22
4:00 p.m.
Smith College Paradise Pond
This Gathering of poetry, art, service, and healing will be followed by art making and community building in Helen Hills Hills Chapel. Click here for more information and to participate in the planning.
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Scroll down for offerings for the spring holidays Ramadan, Passover, and Easter. |
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Reflections on Grief
by Dr. Floyd Cheung, VP for Equity and Inclusion
Long ago, I learned from David Eng and David Kazanjian the idea that “loss is known only by what remains of it.” From this I understand that to deal with loss is less about acceptance and moving on than about recognition. We recognize how loss stays with us and around us. Loss can be something we carry and something that we know that others carry.
The word grief derives from French grever "afflict, burden, oppress," and from Latin gravare "make heavy.” Grieving, then, is bearing the burden of loss.
On March 1, the Rev. Matilda Cantwell led an opportunity to grieve, at which she and her staff offered each attendee a small stone. We were asked to infuse this stone with whatever sorrows we carried. We then put our stones into a common vessel, reached in, and pulled out a random stone. Each of us left the chapel carrying the burden that someone else brought. I experienced this to be a profound way of acknowledging the Smith community. Staff, faculty, and students came together with our separate burdens. Surely, some of our burdens overlap, but many are unique. We left, however, with a sense of sharing our collective burdens.
My stone sits on my desk to the right of my monitor. When I encounter anyone else at Smith, even if they didn’t happen to attend that vigil, I remember that I may have their stone, and they may have mine.
Each of us carries a burden. Given that knowledge, may we treat one another with more grace.
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The Mill River in Spring. |
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Making Peace
A voice from the dark called out,
"The poets must give us
imagination of peace, to oust the intense, familiar
imagination of disaster. Peace, not only
the absence of war."
But peace, like a poem,
is not there ahead of itself,
can't be imagined before it is made,
can't be known except
in the words of its making,
grammar of justice,
syntax of mutual aid.
A feeling towards it,
dimly sensing a rhythm, is all we have
until we begin to utter its metaphors,
learning them as we speak.
A line of peace might appear
if we restructured the sentence our lives are making,
revoked its reaffirmation of profit and power,
questioned our needs, allowed
long pauses. . . .
A cadence of peace might balance its weight
on that different fulcrum; peace, a presence,
an energy field more intense than war,
might pulse then,
stanza by stanza into the world,
each act of living
one of its words, each word
a vibration of light—facets
of the forming crystal.
-Denise Levertov
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Ramadan Mubarak at Smith!
by Kim Alston
Besides fasting from predawn to sunset, performing regular and special prayers, Muslims nationwide recite the entire Holy Quran during the month of Ramadan as part of the religious ritual. In order to achieve this goal, the Quran is divided into 30 parts and each day observants recite the section of the Quran for the day. Last year Kim Alston, CRSL’s Muslim Student Adviser and Hebatuallah Saleh, a CRSL Muslim Community Religious Liaison, presented the Ramadan Reading and Reflection series. They read a part of each day’s designated reading in both Arabic and English and then reflected on what they had read. The series was set up as a talk show during which the Quranic scripture was read in the original language of the Book and the hosts offered commentary as well as their unique personal perspective. The Arabic is beautiful, rhythmic and melodious and demonstrated the beauty of the language. In some cases Heba, who was born in Egypt and is proficient in Arabic, analyzed the English translation and showed the audience discrepancies in the translation, as it is very difficult to capture the true Arabic in English. They also shared ahadith of The Prophet Muhammad, the history associated with the revelation and many spiritual lessons.
The CRSL offers a rich array of Ramadan activities for the Smith community. This year there are two opportunities for students to participate in Taraweeh prayers which provide an opportunity to hear long passages of the Quran recited in Arabic. The CRSL offers transportation for students who want to travel daily to the Hampshire Mosque in Hadley after the Isha prayer or they can join in student-led Taraweeh prayers daily in the Helen Hills Chapel Blue Room. O you who believe! Seek help through patience and prayers. God is with the steadfast. – HQ 2:153
Click here for a link from the April 15, 2021 (Part 3) Ramadan Reading and Reflection series, enter with the passcode: g9WrDzh=.
Kim Alston is the Program and Communications Manager and Muslim Student Advisor at the Center for Religious and Spiritual Life.
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What is Mindfulness Anyway?
by Anna Ostow
Mindfulness has become a bit of a buzz word these days, alongside concepts like “self-care.” So what is mindfulness anyways?
Mindfulness is another way of talking about being present. To be present is to drop into current time and the current set of sensations that are making up the moment. Growing our capacity to be present means not being caught up in the way we wish things were, and not collapsing or avoiding the way things are, but being able to meet them as they are. This is far easier said than done.
One of the greatest myths we work to dispel on a weekly basis in our drop-in Mindful Mondays program is the idea that being mindful means being calm. Or happy. Yes, to be calm and happy feels good. Yes, there is good, heartening evidence that mindfulness can increase overall well-being. But too often in mainstream wellness culture, mindfulness is offered as a tool to “fix” things, a secret way to “hack” our lives in order to be happier, more successful, and more productive.
This framework for mindfulness and success that centers the individual is born out of a wellness culture heavily shaped by capitalism and the dominance of white culture. It says that if we are just “mindful” enough, or “do enough self care,” we will be relieved of the stresses we feel. It turns pain, grief, and rage into issues that need to be healed in private, as if those emotions were the result of personal defects rather than rational responses to interlocking systems of domination that hurt us all. The individualized framework for mindfulness leaves out the systemic nature of our pain and alienation, and the need for healing - and change - on a collective level. Read more here.
Anna Ostow facilitate programs at the intersection of contemplative practice and social change for the Center for Religious and Spiritual Life. You can join her for the weekly drop-in program Mindful Mondays, 12:15-1:00 p.m.
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Instructions on Not Giving Up
More than the fuchsia funnels breaking out
of the crabapple tree, more than the neighbor’s
almost obscene display of cherry limbs shoving
their cotton candy-colored blossoms to the slate
sky of Spring rains, it’s the greening of the trees
that really gets to me. When all the shock of white
and taffy, the world’s baubles and trinkets, leave
the pavement strewn with the confetti of aftermath,
the leaves come. Patient, plodding, a green skin
growing over whatever winter did to us, a return
to the strange idea of continuous living despite
the mess of us, the hurt, the empty. Fine then,
I’ll take it, the tree seems to say, a new slick leaf
unfurling like a fist to an open palm, I’ll take it all.
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A Note from Rev. Matilda Cantwell:
Kathy McCartney loves "Instructions on Not Giving Up"--I shared it with her and her deep enthusiasm for it made me love it even more. When I read this poem I had one of those experiences where I thought, "wow, I feel that, but I didn't know I did until I read this!'' Do you know what I mean?
I have always felt that the maple leaves coming out and the "greening" of everything, was even more magical than the bright colors. It's true--the blossoms come and grow quickly, while the leaves just keep expanding, and all the green stays with us all summer. I am honored to share this poem now on behalf of Kathy as well as myself, and as a tribute to her second to last spring on Smith's campus, may it be patient and green and beautiful, and may we all take to heart these "instructions on not giving up."
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Student Reflections on Spring 2022 Programming |
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Acknowledging and Celebrating Difference
By Uzma Malik '22
As we head towards our holy month of fasting, Ramadan, our efforts with CRSL programming have shifted more towards inclusion, interfaith, and intrafaith work. Our organization has partnered with the Center for Religious and Spiritual Life to hold various discussions on what differences lie within the ummah (the Muslim community). This has included conversations with Professors Mourad and Professor Mack as well as a local organizer, Mehlaqa Samdani. We have looked at differences in views, sectarian differences, and disabilities. Cultural barriers are often confused with religious principles. Our goal has been to direct that view towards understanding and challenging our thoughts around acceptance.
For Ramadan, we will also host two iftars, when Muslims break their fasts. Both will be in collaboration with the Smith College Jewish Community. Our hope is to exchange different traditions and build a stronger infrastructure around our similarities while acknowledging our beautiful unique characteristics.
In wrapping up the semester, our goal is to give students a new foundation of knowledge to increase transparency and inclusion in their daily lives and among their peers.
Uzma Malik is one of the 2021-2022 Student Co-chairs for Al Iman, Smith's Muslim Student Association.
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Reflections on Mindful Mondays
By Rose Porta '23
Mindful Mondays is a space led by Anna Ostow every Monday during lunch that invites students to take a pause in the middle of the day to connect with others, connect more deeply within their own bodies and hearts, and explore mindfulness teachings from various traditions. I have been attending Mindful Mondays regularly for several months, and even though it is sometimes a challenge to take this hour out of a busy Monday, I always leave feeling a bit lighter and more mentally and emotionally prepared to move through the rest of my day.
Anna usually structures the session such that we begin with a short practice to connect to our bodies, and then we read a short excerpt from a book and talk about our thoughts on the excerpt and how the teachings could apply to our lives. This structure offers consistency and grounding when my week feels chaotic, and it also allows me to gain new insights that I can apply to my life each week. I especially love the opportunity to connect with other Smithies who are also curious about mindfulness. Mindful Mondays helps me to reconnect with what is most valuable to me so that I can act with more intentionality.
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Upcoming and Weekly Programs |
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Queering Christianity
Wednesday, April 13
6:30 p.m.
Chapel Sanctuary
Are you or someone you love Queer and also Christian or Christian - curious?
Or do you not fit neatly into any categories to begin with?
Were you raised to think the two things were in contradiction?
Are you looking for a deeper spiritual connection and feel that queerness and Christianity fit in the picture somewhere?
Join College Chaplain Matilda Rose Cantwell for conversation, prayer, and Bible study over the season of Lent, leading up to Easter, a time to where we deepen our spiritual lives and grapple with our most tender and important questions. This will be a "brave space," and we will operate with one guideline: Collaboration toward trust, non-judgement, mutual understanding and care.
Registration required: https://tinyurl.com/3xs82z98. The group will go forward with a minimum of five sign-ups. Vegetarian pizza dinner offered, email crsl@smith.edu if you would like gluten or dairy free pizza.
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Passover Seder
Friday, April 15
5:30 p.m.
Chapel Sanctuary
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Easter Service
Sunday, April 17
10:30 a.m.
Chapin Lawn
Scriptures, readings and poetry with college chaplain Matilda Cantwell and members of the Smith community. Easter treats for everyone! All are welcome! Rain location Helen Hills Hills Chapel.
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Mindful Mondays
Mondays, 12:15 - 1:00 p.m.
Campus Center 003
If you are looking for a place to make connections and practice building self-awareness and acceptance with others, come check out our drop-in Mindful Mondays program, every Monday in-person at the Campus Center Room 003, 12:15-1pm. With light meditation and embodiment practice, we make a space that encourages healing and connection-building. Bring your lunch and all are welcome. Contact aostow@smith.edu with questions.
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Weekly Meditation
Mondays, 5:00 p.m.
Chapel Sanctuary
Students, faculty and staff are invited to attend weekly mindful meditation in the tradition initiated by Ruth Ozeki. The meditation is led by Mary Beth Brooker during Ruth's sabbatical. A simple, relaxed, silent practice of sitting and walking meditation, using chairs or floor cushions. Initial meditation instruction will be offered. All levels are welcome.
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Jummah Prayer
Fridays, 12:30 p.m.
At the Hampshire Mosque in Hadley
With Transport from Smith Campus
CRSL invites students to attend Jummah Prayer at the Hampshire Mosque in Hadley on Fridays. Meet in front of the Helen Hills Hills Chapel at 12:25 p.m. The CRSL will provide transportation to students who want to attend services. The van will leave by 12:30 p.m. and return to campus about 2:30 p.m. If you would like to attend, send an email to Kim Alston, Muslim Student Adviser at kalston@smith.edu.
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Tajweed Qur'an
Chapel Sanctuary
Listen. Recite. Repeat.
The word “tajweed” means to improve, make better. Learn proper Qur'an recitation with Tajweed in Riwayat Hafs An Asem through listening, reciting and repeating the verses. Advanced learners have the opportunity to memorize the Quran using the theoretical rules of Tajweed. The reference book used in this class is called “Tajweed Quran with Meaning Translation in English with Index on Quran Topics” and will be provided by the CRSL. You don’t have to already speak Arabic; just do your best. The class is taught by Smith Community Religious Liaison and graduate student Jamil El Ibrik. To register email kalston@smith.edu.
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Catholic Mass
Sundays, 4:15 p.m.
Chapel Sanctuary
All students, faculty, and staff are welcome to Mass. Email mraucher@smith.edu to learn more.
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Smith Christian Fellowship
Prayer Small Group
Meet new friends. Learn more about God's word! All welcome,
regardless of spiritual background or faith! Hope to see you soon!
Saturdays 1:00 - 1:45 p.m. in the CC 204
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Interfaith, Prayer and Reflection Spaces on Campus
For this academic year the Center for Religious and Spiritual Life hosts spaces for student activities such as prayer, religious services, group meetings, teas, meditation, mindfulness, discussion groups, studying or simply hanging out.
The Helen Hills Hills Chapel sanctuary, simple in its beauty, has outstanding acoustics and is now being used as a flexible interfaith space to accommodate diverse cultural programming.
On the chapel lower level The Blue Room serves as space for contemplative practice, prayer, and meditation; and the CRSL also offers a space for prayer in The Prayer Room, located in the lower level of Wright Hall. Contact kalston@smith.edu or mraucher@smith.edu to obtain the door code. If you have not already, check out the new Neilson Library Reflection Room. This room provides a third space on campus, dedicated to praying, meditation and quiet contemplation.
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Black Campus Ministry
Bible Study
Sundays 7:00 - 8:30 p.m.
CC 204
Contact Dorithy Barnieth
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International Student Ministry
Bible Study
Thursdays 6:00 - 7:00 p.m.
CC 102
Contact Kathia Masimbi Natete
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Center for Religious and Spiritual Life
Helen Hills Hills Chapel
123-125 Elm Street
Northampton, Massachusetts 01063
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