Letter from Majuro!
Also, I got a letter from Ashley Anderson. I love her optimism. After she wrote me lots of interesting things about her life and filled the letter with questions about mine. Seeing all that the Marshall Islands have gone through as a small nation confronted with Westernization has taught her a lot about what she calls the "poverty of love" in this world. And yet, she wrote near the end the following thoughts, which I enjoyed enough to share -
I am excited today about the state of the world. We are facing dire situations, but I feel as if the tides are turning, certainly in the US (President BH Obama!), but my heart is telling me that the false truths we've built our world upon are breaking. The disparity of power in the Global North and South, the soul-shattering gap between the haves and the have nots... these cannot be the foundation of the world any longer. The truth is eeking out ever so slowly from the cracks of this false foundation. Slowly, it will come and build our world anew. A new world is being built ever so slowly by gentle strong hands, steadfast hearts, and steeled wills. Heart by broken heart we will re-learn the songs of our ancestors, we will hear the song of the breezes and see the trees as ladders to the stars. I don't think it's too late. Peace will come, justice will be the rule, and we will see the sacredness in ourselves and in each other. Yup, that's what I believe is happening now.
I am excited today about the state of the world. We are facing dire situations, but I feel as if the tides are turning, certainly in the US (President BH Obama!), but my heart is telling me that the false truths we've built our world upon are breaking. The disparity of power in the Global North and South, the soul-shattering gap between the haves and the have nots... these cannot be the foundation of the world any longer. The truth is eeking out ever so slowly from the cracks of this false foundation. Slowly, it will come and build our world anew. A new world is being built ever so slowly by gentle strong hands, steadfast hearts, and steeled wills. Heart by broken heart we will re-learn the songs of our ancestors, we will hear the song of the breezes and see the trees as ladders to the stars. I don't think it's too late. Peace will come, justice will be the rule, and we will see the sacredness in ourselves and in each other. Yup, that's what I believe is happening now.