Sallee Wade: Destined for disillusionment
For days a poem by Adrienne Rich, “Diving into the Wreck,” has pulled at my soul. Several years ago, this poem ignited an entire column. Now it feels like a message offering new possibilities for awakened peace. But it must be soaked in and applied; first to our own lives. Then applied to the fragile condition of this adolescent democracy. Life will never be as it was before COVID (still NOT over), and the January 6 attempt to demolish America’s government.
Previously, Chuck and I preferred the splendid fireworks display in Knoxville. People brought picnics, blankets, folding chairs, and sparklers. Children ran free. Complete with ice cream and Bob Clark conducting the final community band concert series, we had an idyllic taste of Norman Rockwell’s imaginary America: mostly white, small town, innocent and adventurous. That America was an illusion.
This year, July 4 felt sad. For days, wildlife, pets and infants were distressed by backyard “freedom celebrants,” bent on ‘big, bang booms, beginning before sundown into the night. That morning, with bombs still ‘bursting in air’ over Ukraine, someone with a history of hate, and an assault rifle, shot multiple rounds into the July 4th parade at Highland Park. My soul wasn’t into celebrating America’s past greatness. We’re far from FREE - of hatred, greed, and rampant, uneducated ignorance. Let’s dive into the wreck we’ve made in this country, and throughout the blue-green planet we call home.
Diving into the Wreck
There is a ladder.
The ladder is always there
hanging innocently
close to the side of the schooner.
I go down.
I came to explore the wreck.’
I came to see the damage that was done
and the treasures that prevail.
‘Independence’ is another illusion. Yes, we gained ‘independence’ from Britain’s colonial oppression. Then we ourselves promptly became oppressors. First, we
oppressed the indigenous people, from whom our constitution was borrowed, then decided they were savages. Next oppressed were African slaves, then women seeking the right to vote. Oppression next turned toward people of different color, faith, ethnicity, or lifestyle; and those willing to labor for below poverty pay in unsafe, unhealthful conditions (miners, migrants, meat packing laborers). We have much to learn from them. They know how to survive, overcome, and endure, often at great cost.
Let’s wake up to the larger reality: ‘INTER-DEPENCENCE’. Interdependence acknowledges humans are merely part of an extremely complex, interwoven, and interdependent web of biodiversity. Human survival is dependent on maintaining that dynamic yet delicate balance that will support human life within that biodiversity. Will we wake up in time to save our species?
We were placed in a Garden with everything we needed, given free will, a few simple rules for conduct, and reminded we can always call for Help, or come Home if we’ve screwed up and need a new start. We’ve been given prophets, angels, and all sorts of Holy Guides to teach and guide us. They’re still speaking! Listen to them!
That said, even when we’re doing our best to follow the rules and learn from our mistakes, stuff happens that disrupts everything, seeming tragically, wrecking life as we’ve known it. On the other side, we emerge wet, frightened, naked. How to find footing in this new wilderness? Contemporary philosopher, Sam Keen suggests three questions to periodically ask, particularly during times of great change: Who am I? Where am I going? Who will go with me? It’s important to keep them in that order.
In her book, When Things Fall Apart – Heart Advice for Difficult Times, American Buddhist monk and prolific author, Pema Chodron’s offers “three traditional methods for relating directly with difficult circumstances as a path of awakening and joy”. Here they are abbreviated.
Stop Struggling. We do that by meditating. Focusing on the breath, our most primordial connection to God is the simplest way to begin.
Poison as medicine. Use whatever is happening in your life, to take a different attitude, especially toward suffering. Don’t push it away or pretend it’s not there. Have compassion for that part of you that’s afraid, angry, hurting and confused.
Everything that arises is a manifestation of wisdom. We acknowledge that suffering exists, that darkness exists. The chaos in us and the chaos out there is the basic energy, the play of wisdom. Whether we regard our situation as heaven or hell depends on our perception.
Events will disrupt our lives. But Life is eternal. It simply means life as we’ve known it, is changing. We need to grieve our losses. Loss is part of life. In time, when we’re ready, let’s find that ladder, still hanging innocently over the schooner of our lives. Let’s climb down to courageously examine whatever damage was done. There, we’ll discover a multitude of unexpected treasures still prevailing.
Sallee Wade is a wellness educator and author of The Twelve Disciples of a Wild Woman.
This article originally appeared on Galesburg Register-Mail: Sallee Wade: Destined for disillusionment
