It’s a strange feeling coming back into the world, or that is how I felt as I returned yesterday from my weekend respite in New Hampshire where I had no access to internet or phone. As I came down from the mountain retreat where our group was staying, it was clear that there were no cell phone towers for such access until I reached towns closer to state highways.
The few conversations I had with locals, primarily at gas stations, reminded me of what happens when people are so isolated from the world around. Like recent immigrants, they fall victims of rumor resulting in limited understanding of the world around. Told that Keene State was only 20 minutes away, one person said they – students and faculty – were “different.”
Isolation breeds suspicion – of new ideas, new ways of looking at the world, and a fear of change. It’s also easy to isolate ourselves from people we do not understand and to pass judgment on them. Freeing ourselves from our own bubbles can be difficult, but it is so necessary.
Prayer for the Day
Looking for answers, we often cut ourselves off from questions,
But you, O God, bring us back to the center of your life;
Searching for certainty, we fear differences we do not understand,
But you, O God, expand our vision of the world.
Broaden our vision to embrace others who are different from us,
As part of your creation we need to embrace.
In the name of the One who embraces all,
Even Christ Jesus our Lord, Amen.
Thoughts for the Day
We all have a limited imagination when it comes to understanding people radically different from ourselves.
- Marty Rubin, Canadian gay activist
What we have to do is to find a way to celebrate our diversity and debate our differences without fracturing our communities.
- Hillary Clinton, former candidate for President
Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of services, but he same Lord, and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone.
- Paul in the Letter known as 1 Corinthians 12: 4-6