Monday, September 21, 2020
Fran Meffen
Support
Islands of Sanity: a place of support.
The last six months have required seeking out support as a middle school counselor for my 300 students and their families, for my family and for me. Reading the daily reflections has been one way in which I have received communion and I have shared with Rob and Anne the impact that theirs and the words from others has helped me during this most trying of times. Essential for me, has been the practice of “sabbath rest”, sitting in silence so that I can hear that still small voice and guide that comes from within and through the voices of the reading that I choose to do. As Parker Palmer has reminded me in his teachings on Circles of Trust for the soul to come forth requires us to be silent and listen. Many years ago, a counselor with whom I am still connected pointed out that silent and listen are composed of the same letters.
My sabbath rest begins by getting up early and sitting by myself by the fireplace in our home and looking at the big bay window. It is a place where I can quiet my mind and empty it from all of the internal conversations about the state of our world, the tasks that need doing and all that lies ahead in the day. Having created that space I then turn to the writings of Sarah Lawrence-Lightfoot, Parker Palmer but most importantly Margaret Wheatley. In her writings, Margaret Wheatley calls us to become warriors of the human spirit who strive to create “Islands of Sanity”. This striving is not to be an arduous task but rather a calling to join others who are doing what they can during this “Age of decadence”.
As I have sought to create Islands of Sanity for my family, I have done work on me as I strive to understand growing up with white privilege and how this intersects with the impact of racial injustice on my son(in-law) as a black man, my daughter and their two children. I have continued my work as a counselor to work to create Islands of Sanity for my students whose families are struggling. Lending a hand, driving over a device because they lack transportation, making sure they know where they can pick up meals and how they can access existing community resources are all ways in which I can create an Island of Sanity.
As a community, I believe that SJC is also called to look at how each of us in ways both big and small can lend our time and talents to create Islands of Sanity. Is this not what walking with Jesus is all about. The Common Table is just such an Island. For my dad, “the brownie man” the Common Table gave him a way to be part of an Island of Sanity, by giving him a way to show his love for others and to also be wrapped in the love of Judy and Lou Roberts, Dawn, Margaret, Suzi and so many others. This is where dad got his support and he could support others.
Let us continue to be an instrument of peace, of love and of support and may we all feel the love of God as we each in our own way create Islands of Sanity.