bono malum superate

We’re starting off with a cloudy morning morning, which may affect the day.  My morning walk (500m!!)  was outside, which was lovely!!!  I easily doubled my distance from yesterday, and extended it, so I was able to make it a further walk than before.  I had a lovely stroll around the grounds, and part of my goal for next week is climbing the hill to the butterfly gardens.   The plan is to be able to take the Jerry dog out for walks, which includes hills and uneven ground.  Both he and I are looking forward to that! (Well, he will be when I can take those walks!). Then I gave myself another long walk this afternoon as it rained heavily, so the walk was indoors but 45 minutes long.   This afternoon was a long walk through the connecting tunnel between the rehab centre and the General hospital, into the radiology area which is is known for confusing patients. I managed to stroll a long distance, which covered most of the area from rehab to radiology and back. In all, I think that I managed to walk another 500m+!  While Covid continues, we will have to make adaptations, but for the moment, it’s not at all difficult. We are able to do things that really were not considered, but we are able to plan alternative options.  It’s surprisingly hot, in here, and I’m trying to adjust to it. 

I’m exhausted.  This morning was also the first time that I’ve had to be woken up.  I haven’t slept that much in absolutely YEARS, so it was great!  I was sleep deprived, said my doctor, so this will help.  I was drifting off and waking up and generally not present, so the expression  “out of it” applied to me!

I’ve been thinking more about about the beatitudes today and how they can apply to us.  There are a multitude of interpretations that can apply, some of which lend themselves to crawling and false humility instead of what was intended.  For instance, in my opinion, “poor in spirit” doesn’t mean extremely servile. There are those who think that “turn the other cheek” (also part of the Beatitudes) means complete submission to authority, a view that has been exploited by autocrats over the centuries, and unfortunately sometimes by church leaders.) I think that it’s also a limiting factor- that we don’t fight pointlessly over minor quibbles, but we let them wash over us. Its meaning is likely closer to  the meaning of “hunger and thirst for righteousness,”  in that it’s someone who is willing to work for fairness and justice.  It’s incompatible to imagine a hunger for righteousness with someone who crawls before authorities and yields to tyranny. It’s also inconceivable to link peacemaking with bondage.  How can you link peacemaking with crawling under someone’s thumb?  Or a person who is persecuted for righteousness who just allows injustice?  So there’s definitely a strong element of bravery and a desire to ensure that the world is a more equal place than it is at the moment, and FAR more than it was 2,000 years ago than just having a kumbaya moment and singing a happy song.  

It may seem harsh of me to say this, but it’s necessary.  We stand together or we fall into separately, and that’s just not something that we should do.  Let’s work to ensure an equitable society that protects each of our rights.  Because when each of of us is protected, we’re all cared for by all of us, regardless of of our colour or creed or or who we love.  Let’s not make the mistake of thinking that someone’s rights trump ours, because they don’t.  We just watched a horrible period where people were set against one another and there were deaths because there was a mindset that protecting the rights of a minority group meant that others lost their protectionss.  We saw that wasn’t true, but we also watched needless suffering.  We saw people die callously as they were labelled “animals” and self-righteous individuals sought to turn themselves into arbiters of justice.  Let’s stop this.  

We therefore are called to do more than just wring our hands when faced with the agony of others,  I’m going to be be bold and argue that we must not be silent when when faced with injustice.  That when we see people who are faced with modern forms of hatred - racism,  homophobia, “whatever you want to call it anti-another group,” we need to stand united and denounce it.  Because we are all one group; one race; one people, regardless of the colour of our skin, who we love and who we are.  Good can only overcome evil when good people stand in defence of good.  We can’t be silent and hope that things will improve on their own… or that things  will get better on their own.   We must, at every opportunity, say that the right thing is this, and we must do the right thing now and each time. That each time someone calls out a faggot, we firmly reject that label, even when it’s tossed out in in jest.  We must or else we are tacitly agreeing with them.   Even tacit agreement is support, and we must not do that.

Let us act together together to ensure that we create the kind of world that we want - one that is fair, equitable and non-discriminatory.  One where we are judged on ourselves and not others’ preconceptions of us. Where our chances of advancement rely on our ability.  A world that would be utopian when compared to our own in many respects, but which is attainable from where we are today.  Most of all, one that we can build ourselves by small steps from our current status.  One where “I have a dream” becomes as much a historic icon as engravings of the Ten Commandments on walls.  

First we start by ensuring that we ourselves do he right thing at all times.  Then we encourage our friends to do that same.  We advocate for politicians who live up to those ideals.  We endorse groups that work constantly to those ends.  When we slip - as we will  - we ensure that we apologize and correct our actions.  We build a world where good triumphs over evil consistently.  We start small by never allowing allowing ourselves to fall into petty arguments about small things.  I suggest that we start today by ensuring that everyone we know is vaccinated against Covid and that we advocate against ignorance.  That means, my dear friends, that when people start talking about their conspiracies that we politely (or less so, depending… 😉) we remind them that science is real and we rely on valid research, not on theories or people who are “speaking out against the establishment,” we don’t resort in to violence and we return reason for babbled nonsense.  We learn real science,  not the rubbish that is intended to promote miracle cures instead of established science (we will discuss this another time!  It’s too long for today.)  

And please, feel free to tell me that I’m out of my gourd for suggesting these things!  

By the way, I managed to get several hours of sleep while writing, which is why this is so late being posted.  God be thanked!  Have another positive day my friends.