1/5/2025
My Dear Friend & POTUS, JRB,
Do you feel the weight of the world on your shoulders with the gravity of your decisions or do you experience the buoyancy of each life you uplift with your attention? I suspect its some of both, but I hope it more of the latter than the former.
This question arises from a conversation with my Friends about how best to respond to expressions of depletion & despair in Quaker circles. I suggested that the best we could do was be role model & demonstrate a cheerful mindset in the midst of suffering. Something similar appears in John 16:33, “in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.”
You & I have both witnessed & experienced suffering. Perhaps less than those in Gaza, Syria, Burma or Sudan, but enough to feel that hole in our heart that makes us feel forsaken. We have somehow managed to turn our attention away from that hole & toward the beauty of the Earth. How do we help others do the same?
Today’s Hex 59 suggests we remain open & strive to develop trusting relations with those around us. Acknowledge misunderstandings that create barriers & show our love. Maria Popova suggests we pay close attention “because love is made of the particular & the specific, to love anything — a person, a planet, your life — is at bottom a practice of noticing, which is always a devotional practice.”
I do not envy you in having to discern how to love our nation. As I ponder the Social Security Fairness Act (SSFA) that you are signing today, I question the wisdom of it. Are you sure you want to burden the Social Security Administration with more work & further drain the money in the system so that 2.7 million beneficiaries can get more $$ each month? Are you convinced that our lawmakers did their homework on this one?
I’d be happier about your signing this law if you coupled it with eliminating some defense spending. The Congressional Budget Office estimates the SSFA will cost $196 billion over 10 years, so why not cut back on the nuclear weapons program by a similar amount?
It’s time for me to stop now.
Before I go, I urge you to call NUG Acting President, Duwa Lashi La. He was just interviewed by AJ & expressed a desire to get your support. Please help him feel our love!
BYBS,
