Renewal, Spring, or Something

On these religious holidays that I no longer celebrate in the traditional church-going way and refuse to celebrate in the purely commercial way (though I will buy some sale peeps tomorrow if there are any left), I struggle with how to mark the spiritual richness I still feel.

I was recalling with a co-worker this past week, memories of spending days of my spring break as a small child with my grandmother who was very religious. Good Friday meant being quiet at noon for at least an hour with absolutely no idea why it was necessary or important. It got easier as I got older to understand the rituals and the traditions...at least to understand why people felt they were important gestures and ways to remember a sacrifice.

As I have moved away from organized religion, the need for spirituality has not decreased. Finding meaning in experiences that cannot be easily categorized as ritual or tradition is not always easy or reconcilable with the desire to experience life in the moment.

So, this evening as I listened to the news, I heard about a group in Chicago that aspires to turn sacrifice into renewal. CeaseFire takes the sacrifice of young life to violence (especially from those toting guns) as an opportunity to foster dialogue and other ways to resolve issues.

It was a revelation, inspiration and affirmation.

With all of the meaningless violence (death and maiming) we have seen in Oakland in these three short months of this new year, I have been thinking about how we as individual citizens can try to bring more peace to our streets. I firmly believe that it is unconscionable to believe that some people deserve safe streets and others just have to live with the mess. Those who can, then, get to move to what they think are their deservedly safe neighborhoods and those of us who can't just have to put up with it.

I admit that I want to live in a safe community. I just don't think that there are only a limited few who deserve the right to go to bed and wake in peace. I think we all should work towards the community we want; we should all sacrifice and prosper in equal measures.

So, I have been walking my usual route and taking my usual buses, and wondering, should I come across another Jake, how would I talk him out of the gun or the request for money? How can I, as a citizen of this city, contribute to the peaceful negotiation and resolution of conflict?

Here's a group that offers an organized way for citizens to be involved in the "change [they] want to see," (paraphrased from Gandhi). No small feat. It's not that I don't support greater and better police presence as a part of the solution. But if the last few weeks, and the shooting of at least three unarmed civilians, are indicative of what more police will mean on our streets, I think we can find more productive ways to spend our tax revenue.

Well, this little news piece, well-placed on this day, gave me an option to pursue. If I can find the clip, I will post a link, for now, check out their site and imagine the possibilities.

For spring and Easter (for those who celebrate) or Purim or New Year or whatever feast you are celebrating, here's to new life... to new hope, to participating in the change we'd like to see in this world.