Have compassion for everyone you meet,
even if they don’t want it. What seems conceit,
bad manners, or cynicism is always a sign
of things no ears have heard, no eyes have seen.
You do not know what wars are going on
down there where the spirit meets the bone.
--Poet Laureate Miller Williams
We are all back on campus, and what a joy it is! As usual, at this time of the school year, everyone has enough energy and determination to put on a happy face, give it their best shot, and look like the person they really want to be!
But when I look out at the sea of high-octane young faces, I am acutely aware that they have all had vastly different experiences of the past eighteen months, and some of those experiences were pretty harrowing. When will the effects of those experiences find their way to the surface, and how will we, as a community, hold them?
Not every young person knows, yet, how to handle their own stress in a healthy way, much less the stresses of others that manifest in confusing ways. Of course, this is our work every year, but there is a super-charged aspect to it this year.
Be generous and compassionate this fall, no matter where you are and who you are with; don’t underestimate the vulnerability that surrounds you. Blessings on you at this hope-filled start of the year, and may we all find the energy we need to recover as individuals and as a community!
--The Rev. Barbara Talcott
Spread the word!
Do you know someone in the St. Mark’s community who would enjoy these reflections?
