“Compassion is the sometimes fatal capacity for feeling what it is like to live inside somebody else’s skin. It’s the knowledge that there can never really be any peace and joy for me until there is peace and joy finally for you too. ”
This quote by Frederick Buechner articulates so well what I hope to be “about.” I am a long retired nurse who has found her path among the voiceless. My post career years have led me to work in the inner city in a myriad of ways, in particular with children. I have been graced with mentors in person….and in books. Experience happens, even when we are unaware!
That now 20 year experience has taught me several things, the most important being the worth of each of God’s beloved children. Regardless of address or lack of address. That eventually interfaced in a way that led to the realization that compassion is not passive, but rather requires systemic change. Studies have shown, and “lessons from the road” have taught me that social justice lies in the arms of not just love for one another, but value for one another.
Social justice calls for the chance…an equal playing field…for each person to meet their own God given potential. It takes far more commitment to be a part of that community building than to be easy solutions. It requires sharing our stories and lives.
So, I am about making new friends, learning new ways and changing my filter.
I am about being a voice. Poetry is often that vehicle for me.
Lessons from the Road 