Imagine someone putting their hand on your shoulder, looking
you in the eye, and saying in a firm, assuring voice, “It’s gonna be ok. It’s
gonna be ok.”
Do you feel better?
I went on a bit of a rant yesterday. Not a big one, but a
rant nonetheless. What I was expressing was a level of frustration. I wasn’t
smart enough to know that was what I was doing at the time, but after some group
process and reflection, I have been enlightened (AHHHHH) and now know the
truth.
Tonight during our group process and reflection I asked
people to share their frustrations. One person from the medical team shared her
frustration that people from the team are eating well and there are children
and adults all around in the batey who complain they are hungry and we have
nothing to offer them. What is so frustrating is that we have the food and we
could bring sandwiches if we wanted to. Why can’t we do more?
Someone from the construction team shared the frustration
that sometimes it feels like we are doing very menial work while the people on
the medical team are doing amazing things with individuals; they are reaching
people and construction folks are moving buckets of sand. Similar to my rant
yesterday, that person is frustrated.
These frustrations were voiced during our reflection time
and immediately people started to offer solutions. “All we need to do is get
some bread, some peanut butter, and we can make the sandwiches.” Or, “You just
need to remember that you are a part of a bigger project, of something big.”
“It’s gonna be ok. It’s gonna be ok.”
Do you feel better?
Actually, no. Take your platitudes, put them back in your I’m-gonna-fix-it
pocket. Don’t try to make things better; don’t cover up our frustrations or our
anger. Let us just be mad. Let us just be upset and make a mess.
Think of it this way. If you walk into a room and see me
sitting among a pile of broken eggs, bags of flour everywhere, cans dented,
etc., etc., there are a couple of things you can do. You could say, “How long
until breakfast?” You could say, “You need to clean this up!” Or… you could get
into the mess and make it with me, smash more eggs with me, and be angry with
me. Then, when everything is done and when we are both sitting on the floor
covered with flour and eggs and everything else, we can start to make pancakes.
Mmmm, pancakes.
Your advice is fine, nice, and sometimes helpful, but let us
wallow in our mess. Let us be frustrated. Then we can all can hold hands and
sing “We shall overcome” together knowing that our work is not in vain and that
we are making great strides. Yes, someday all workers at hospitals and schools
and other places will know that each block they lift is a block of oppression
being lifted from the dregs of society. Yes, someday we will have so many
peanut butter sandwiches so each child will only have one desire… for jelly.
Until then, lets look to the immortal image of a younger HenryRollins (from his Black Flag days), and get angry, stay angry, and find God in
that mess.
No comments:
Post a Comment