Letter from Tom

 

June 14, 2009

 

It’s early morning and I’m writing this at a table in the dayroom of the dormitory. This is my special quiet time, a good time to share some thoughts and feelings with you.

 

In the classroom, I’ve been focusing on words and their power to influence us. Words remind us of what we forget and they make us forgetful. They bewitch and betray us – and they bless us, too.

 

On the classroom board, I like to post things that will cause the students to think. Here are two statements that are presently on the board:

 

“The following statement is True.

The above statement is False.”

 

“I experience what I believe

Unless I believe I won’t,

In which case I don’t,

Which means I did!”

 

Statements like these cause us to say, “HUH?” and then to read them again and dig a little deeper.

 

Sometimes the multiple meanings of words can lead us to some humorous interpretations. Here are some actual headlines that have appeared in newspapers throughout the country.

 

“Something went wrong in Jet crash, Expert says.”

(No, Really?)

 

“Police begin campaign to run down Jay walkers.”

(this is taking things too far!)

 

“Juvenile Court to try shooting Defendant”

(Better than a fair trial?)

 

“If Strike isn’t settled quickly, It may last awhile.”

(you think so?)

 

“Red tape holds up new bridges.”

(Is that better than duct tape?)

 

“Hospitals are sued by Seven Foot Doctors.”

(Boy, are they tall!)

 

“Kids Make Nutritious Snacks”

(Taste like chicken?)

 

I wonder what those headline writers were thinking??

 

Sometimes our words and our beliefs can lead us into situations that are opposite of what might be expected. For example, here is a quote from “Bartlett Book of Anecdotes” –

 

“As a punishment for refusing to serve in the army, Poet Robert Lowell was imprisoned for five months by the U.S. Courts. While waiting to be transferred to Connecticut toserve the sentence, Lowell spent a few days in New York’s West Street Jail. During his stay there he was put in a cell next to Louie Lepke, a convicted member of Murder, Incorporated.

 

“ ‘I’m in for killing,’ Lepke said to the poet. ‘What are you in for?’

 

Lowell answered, ‘Oh, I’m oin for refusing to kill.’ ”

 

How ironic that is! It might be argued that the circumstances are different, but are we ever justified in killing? When we are violent to others, we do violence to ourselves, and eventually, we run the risk of becoming our oppressors. War will exist until some future time when the conscientious objector will enjoy the same reputation and prestige that the warrior does today.

 

As we work for peace and justice, we have to expect opposition to our work. We can look at it, though, as just another opportunity to practice nonviolence, loving others, and still insist on the truth of peace. We can do this because we know that Spirit is at work among us, disarming us all. This disarming is a stripping of pride and ego, a part of the rhythm of being alive and when the core is finally reached, everything becomes more real; everything is felt in a new and deeper way.

 

May we go forth today, exposed at a deeper level, realizing how precious life truly is.