Sunday Thoughts - The continuing story of the people, by the people, for the people.
July Supporting Subscriber Discount!
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The Continuing Story - of the people, by the people, for the people.
On July 4th I performed with my long time friend and collaborator, Gary Walters, in Washington DC at the Smithsonian FolkLife Festival. The focus for this year’s festival was “Creative Encounters:Living Religions In The USA, celebrating the beauty and strength found in what we share, but also found in our diversity. Gary and I wandered around the grounds before our set, visiting many of the events and booths that honored a wide variety of religious and spiritual traditions in our country. We marveled at a Tibetan monk in the process of creating an intricate sand mandala, we visited tents where beautiful arts and traditions were explained and lifted up by representatives of the Sufi and Hindu communities, we listed to a panel discussion with members of Indigenous American community , describing a ceremony of remembrance, there was even a “Kitchen Theology” tent where people were giving demonstrations about gardening and preparation of fresh vegetables and herbs as well as the preparation traditional dishes for holidays and celebrations.
If I am honest, when I was invited to perform at the festival I wondered how it might feel to participate in a celebration of democracy on the DC mall at this moment in history. Democracy has been taking hard hits in recent years, with a disturbing rise of a demonizing kind of politics that views our differences as dangerous (even evil), rather than part of the vital creative tension that is the hallmark of a working and living democracy. I wondered what it would feel like to be in DC on the Fourth of July when we are experiencing such push back to many of our hard won gains in creating a more just, equal and “perfect union.”
But I was told I was invited because the music I present invites and welcomes people into a shared space of empathy and recognition, which I believe is a powerful place, perhaps one of the only places to effectively start in divided times. So that’s how I ended up playing on the hottest day in human history as part of a celebration of our diversity and the ongoing dynamic nature of democracy.
Before heading to DC I decided to re-read parts of one of my my favorite books on the dynamic process of being a citizen, Parker J. Palmer’s Healing the Heart of Democracy: The Courage to Create a Politics Worthy of the Human Spirit. I highly recommend this insightful book with it’s beautiful description of The Five Habits of the Heart of the Heart, Here is a quote from that book on the importance of diversity.
"American democracy at its best is like that island of restored prairie. In a world where human diversity is often suppressed—where authoritarian regimes have kept people lined up like rows of cultivated corn, harvesting their labor and sometimes their lives to protect the interests of the state—the diversity that grows in a democracy delights the heart as well as the eye."
— Parker J. Palmer (Healing the Heart of Democracy: The Courage to Create a Politics Worthy of the Human Spirit)Here are notes from the growing edge in DC this week.
*I loved walking around and seeing all the events and booths, demonstrations and educational experiences that surrounded the stage area. I was utterly grateful for the organizers who made the decision to focus on spiritual diversity and brought such a wide and creative expression of who we are as a country.
*Ok, I wear a lot of black when I perform. Its a thing. So it was pretty funny to wait for the shuttle bus at the hotel where many of the performers and participants were in beautiful colorful traditional clothing. The lobby was filled with ribbons and sparkles and of course there was me in my quakerly dark colors feeling a bit like a sparrow among brilliant birds.
*It was such an empowering feeling to stand on stage and look to my left and see the capital, and look to my right and see the Washington Monument. I thought of the historic and recent photos I’d seen of the gatherings for the common good, for civil rights, for women’s rights, for peace, for the preservation of our blessed planet, for a more just and equal expression of “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” I felt the presence of the ancestors, the shoulders we stand upon and the encouragement to faithfulness to what I hold dear.
*It was lovely to see the ASL signer communicating in a beautiful dance. Including all in the experience of the festival.
*And finally, it was good for my heart to hear a crowd of such diverse people singing “There is room at the table for everyone.” People of every age, race, gender identification, of many spiritual traditions, of every walk of life (including people with American flags on their baseball caps).
*There is a lot of ways to think about patriotism, but in my mind the word implies a kind of loyalty or faithfulness. A working and dynamic democracy is not a “love it or leave it” sort of idea, it is an ongoing lovers quarrel, a willingness to keep doing the hard work of living right at the growing edge of positive change (personally and as a community).
This week I returned to hearing a good deal of hard news that continues to focus on the politics of fear and division, but I’m holding on to that moment when I stood at the center of that expansive lawn singing with a chorus of diverse people. “This is how it all begins, let us sing the new world in. There is room at the table for everyone.”
It can still happen, it is happening. All is not lost.
Question:
What do you think about the idea of patriotism being experienced as an expression faithfulness, and experiment in becoming? What does the idea that participating in democracy as an act of faithfulness to an idea, a value your hold in trust mean to you?
Practice
Experiment with extending empathy today. It might be as simple as saying hello to someone you might not know. It might be discovering empathy and faithfulness toward your own growth. Write in the comment section how it felt to extend empathy to oneself or another.
A Great Wild Mercy - Thank you for Streaming!
“I’m tired of all the rage, tired of all the worry, I’m ready for a great wild mercy”
Hi Folks, I want to thank everyone who checked out my post last week and did the two things listed that really help when a new album and singles are being released. Basically the more you stream a song, the more services like Apple Music, Spotify and others will introduce my music to new listeners!
When you follow an artist you get notifications when new songs or albums are released. When you pre-save, the day my new album is released it is downloaded directly into your library, so you have it the first day it is available. Its all free and easy and I can’t wait to share the new singles and album with you all.
If you haven’t followed me as an artist or pre-saved yet just click the buttons below! Again, thank you for following and for pre-saving my new album.
One Inch Photos This Week
It heals my heart a little to read about this real life example of patriotism and religion sitting at the table with diversity and empathy. As I witness patriotism and religion reduced to anger and hate, I am tempted to shy away from those words. It breaks my heart to see the vulnerable human emotion of fear being so widely and callously used as a weapon to persuade loving people to grasp onto what they would ordinarily reject. This festival sounds so wonderful, and I thank you for sharing the experience.
And…it has always amazed me that you wear a lot of black…and you have long haired dogs!
Peace and Joy.
Hello Carrie- Thank you for coming to DC. I was the white haired woman crying through your set. We must create and recreate the world as we want it to be- everyday. Your work shines a light on the path to follow. Thank you.