Page 1 - 2020 July Listen - 14-3

A
COMPA N ION S Listen
RESOURCE
FOR
SPIRITUAL

JULY 2020 VOLUME 14 ISSUE 3

WHAT IS OURS TO DO?

In these challenging times of multiple raging How do we maintain intimacy, and safety? In short,
pandemics, with viruses, fear, systemic racism and how can we be most effective in this new world of
injustice everywhere, we ask ourselves: “What is ours?
mine to do? How do I respond to everything that is
happening with integrity, and in accordance with my It can feel a bit like being lost in a maze or labyrinth,
talents, abilities, and limitations?” struggling to find our way out and forward, mapping
the best path.
As we witness people demonstrating around the
world, many of us spiritual companions wonder And it reminds me of the allegory of the cave in Plato’s
whether we are falling short. We might find ourselves Republic, where the prisoners’ reality manifests as
unable to attend due to Covid-related health concerns, shadows cast on the wall they are forced to face, from
but also because of our varied temperaments, or a fire behind them. Without going too far into Plato’s
physical disabilities, and other factors. lessons from that tale (which go in a completely
different direction), the analogy is suggestively apt
And the circumstances of our confinement also invite to the plight of bringing ourselves into the light in
considerations around how to be the best spiritual these constrained circumstances, when our reality has
companions we can. How do we best assist people increasingly become akin to shadows on a wall.
remotely, through those little pictures on the screen? continued on next page

(Discerning Ours To Do) - Matt Whitney
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