Swaying
Submitted by Aldon Hynes on Sun, 10/04/2015 - 19:57Too little sleep
and too much
cold and damp
has left me felling
rundown
vulnerable.
The car is acting up,
systems around the house
are not running
as smoothly
as should be
only adding
to the fatigue.
At church this morning
a baby cried
inconsolably.
She had just eaten
and probably needed to burp.
The mother rocked her
back and forth
patting her back
hoping to quiet her
though I doubt anyone
in the congregation minded.
I remembered
trying to comfort my daughters,
their heads on my shoulder
just above my heart,
swaying back and forth.
I found myself swaying
as we prayed
for the victims of shootings,
of floods,
of cancer,
of loneliness,
holding these people in my heart,
swaying.
Shootout at the City upon a Hill
Submitted by Aldon Hynes on Sat, 10/03/2015 - 20:03The New Republic suggests that “Liberals Are Unfairly Taking Jeb Bush's ‘Stuff Happens’ Out of Context” but goes on to say “There are plenty of problems with his statement about the Oregon massacre, but that wasn't one of them.”
The article quotes Bush as follows
“We’re in a difficult time in our country and I don’t think more government is necessarily the answer to this,” he said. “I think we need to reconnect ourselves with everybody else. It’s very sad to see. But I resist the notion—and I had this challenge as governor, because, look, stuff happens. There’s always a crisis. And the impulse is always to do something and it’s not always the right thing to do.”
So, what context should we take this in? One context is comparing it to Jesus saying “For you always have the poor with you.” Yes, stuff happens. There’s always a crisis. You will always have the poor. Yet the quote from Jesus comes in the context of the coming crucifixion, perhaps not the context Bush is looking for.
To me, it seems more like a retreat from American Exceptionalism, something conservatives often accuse liberals of doing. In this case it seems like conservatives response to mass shootings. Either America is not exceptional enough to address mass shootings, or even worse, it is exceptional in its inability to address them.
I can understand the conservative view that ‘more government’ isn’t necessarily the answer to every crisis, but whether or not the solution is more government, we are all called to show compassion and to show leadership in finding solutions to the problems our country faces. Jeb Bush failed to do both.
Being a Hynes
Submitted by Aldon Hynes on Sat, 10/03/2015 - 13:38When I was a kid, my father was a member of Mensa, as well as some other similar groups. I was brought up believing I was exceptionally smart, as well as kind, creative, and other positive attributes. The beliefs and expectations about who I was shaped who I am.
Recently, I stumbled across, “Picture yourself as a stereotypical male”. I mentioned this article when I first found it saying that I hoped to explore it in more detail later.
This morning is a good morning to explore this a little. I have three daughters who grew up as Hyneses, believing they are exceptionally smart, kind, creative, and so on. In their early school days, they sang with their classmates, “I believe I can fly.” The past few days were a reminder that they can fly. The oldest two are flying.
On Thursday evening, my youngest daughter and I went to the opening for “Big Art: Tiny House” in Concord, MA. Miranda is building a tiny house as a public art project to help reconnect art to daily. Miranda did fantastic explaining her ideas and afterwards many artists made comments to me about how proud I must be to be Miranda’s father. I am. Her talk deserves a blog post (or more) of its own and I hope to get to that later.
On Friday morning, I received a Facebook message from my eldest daughter in Japan. She has been accepted into a graduate program in modern Japanese women's history in the Global Studies Department at Doshisha University in Kyoto. She is receiving a full scholarship. Years ago she spoke about going to graduate school in Japan. She’s a Hynes. She can do it. Her studies also deserves a blog post (or more) on its own as well.
Next week, we will celebrate Fiona’s birthday. She is still young, so we don’t know what her great successes will be but we are already seeing signs.
Yet this also gets issues of privilege and internalized racism. My daughters have a great privilege of growing up believing they are going to do great things. They have a great privilege of being surrounded by people believing the same thing. All children should grow up this way. Unfortunately, too many kids grow up believing they are trouble, that they are not loved. Too many kids grow up having those around them believing that they are trouble.
As I think of this, two quotes come to mind. One is from Virginia Woolf, to the effect that the only thing wrong with privilege is that not everyone has it. The other is about Lake Wobegon, where every kid is above average.
So, I will celebrate successes of my daughters and seek to help others also be successful.
Calling
Submitted by Aldon Hynes on Fri, 10/02/2015 - 09:55Frederick Buechner writes,
“In the year that King Uzziah died, or in the year that John F. Kennedy died, or in the year that somebody you loved died” in his post about vocation based on Isaiah 6:1-9
I’ve been thinking about this, mostly in terms of “Here I am; Send me”. I struggle with the response of “Go”, seeking discernment about where I should go, how I should go, and I overlook the first part.
I write this as a friend sits by her mother’s bedside during the final moments of her mother’s life. I write this on the birthday of a friend that died a couple years ago. I write this as Hurricane Joaquin approaches, remembering the death of my mother a few years ago during Hurricane Sandy. I write this thinking about a friend whose son died in the first moments of life.
I write this as I read the news about the latest shooting, this time in Oregon. I think of Sandy Hook, Charleston, and … The list is too long. I think of Trayvon, Michael, Sandy, the list is too long.
Last night, I attended an opening for one of my daughters’ art project. It was great and I want to write more about it soon. This morning I received great news from another one of my daughters. I also want to write more about this soon.
How is it that all of this comes up in my Facebook timeline, including the link to Buechner as a sponsored post? How does this all fit together?
Buechner ends his post with “The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world's deep hunger meet.”
I must respond like Isaiah. “Here I am; Send Me”.
Rabbit, Rabbit, Rabbit. The Journey of the Rabbit
Submitted by Aldon Hynes on Thu, 10/01/2015 - 12:50As a children, we were told to say, “Rabbit, Rabbit, Rabbit” first thing each month to bring good luck for the coming month. These days, I try to start each morning with a Collect from the Lectionary. The Collect for this coming Sunday is
Almighty and everlasting God, you are always more ready to hear than we to pray, and to give more than we either desire or deserve: Pour upon us the abundance of your mercy, forgiving us those things of which our conscience is afraid, and giving us those good things for which we are not worthy to ask, except through the merits and mediation of Jesus Christ our Savior; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Perhaps, in some way, the two are related, in some sort of “Journey of the Rabbit”.
I think of the Velvateen Rabbit talking about what it means to be ‘real’. That too is a journey, part of the “Journey of the Rabbit”.
I’ve been thinking a lot about my life journey over the past few months and I’m very aware of being at this particular point in the journey, how different it was from when I was younger, and presumably, how different it is from what I am in the process of becoming.
This comes to mind after a discussion yesterday at a meeting about providing safe shelters for LGBT people. Many people are on different journeys as they try to understand their own gender identity or sexual orientation. Many people are on different journeys as they try to make sense of how they will react to people whose journeys are different from their own.
Yet one of the most important, underlying ideas, is to recognize that we are all on our journeys. What we thought yesterday, what we are thinking today, and what we will be thinking about tomorrow are all just different places on our ever changing journeys.
