Fasting from Harmful Thoughts and Speech

(Note- I'm using Lent and Easter Wisdom from Thomas Merton as my Lenten devotional this year. I'll be blogging the journaling prompts most days.)

The Christian must deny himself, whether by fasting or some other way, in order to make clear his participation in the mystery of our burial with Christ in order to rise with Him to a new life. ~Seasons of Celebration, p. 122

How can you "fast" from thoughts and speech that harm others, the community, and yourself?

I think I do a fairly good job of not giving voice to the meaner things that come across my mind around most people. That is to say, I'm very good at seeming like I'm not a judgmental person. But the truth is, of course, much more complex than the "best foot forward" one tries to present to others.

If you were to plant a listening device in my home or in my car you'd get a clearer picture of how I engage in thoughts and speech that are harmful to others, the community, and myself.

My wife, Jessica, is my closest friend, and we almost always say exactly what we think to one another. That's a good thing for the most part, because we all need people with whom we feel safe to express ourselves with no fear of retribution, and that's especially important in an intimate partnership like a marriage.

The downside of this freedom to speak my mind, however, is that I sometimes give voice to some of the uglier things that cross my mind. By allowing them to go from my brain out my mouth, I'm letting those harmful thoughts have more power than I would if I simply acknowledged that they were there and moved along.

I can be particularly mean when I think someone is being smug, judgmental, and a know-it-all. I get that way because those are the qualities I don't like about myself, and it's like looking in the mirror and seeing something I don't like. It's the speck to my log, if you will.

This will happen in the car, too. I've gotten better about giving verbal or non-verbal signs of my displeasure with other drivers now that Kate repeats every single thing I do or say, but if I'm by myself and listening to political chat on the radio, I'll just let loose when I hear a clip of a politician saying something I consider to be ridiculous.

So to answer today's question, I'm going to "fast" from harmful thoughts and speech by not giving voice to those thoughts, simply acknowledging that they're there, and moving on. I'll even try forcing myself to say a prayer for those that drive me nuts.

After all, Jesus said we should do that, so it might just be good for me.

From Either/Or to Both/And

After listening to and reading through the transcript of President Obama's speech in Cairo today, I have to say that I was very impressed. Perhaps this is not much of a shock, since I identify as a Christian Progressive and tend to like Obama (even though I don't agree with all of his policies). What really impressed me was not so much the policy positions he put forth as what the speech reveals about the way he thinks and approaches complex issues. It is a way of thinking that I think is largely shared by most people, and yet is tragically absent from our public discourse.

This kind of thinking could be labeled as "Both/And" thinking. It is the kind of thinking that rejects the idea that all problems have only two solutions, and that these solutions are the polar opposite of one another. I supposed you could call this other type "Either/Or" thinking. "Both/And" thinking can see and appreciate many perspectives, and is not afraid to talk about the merits of postions with which they disagree. "Both/And" thinking's primary concern is not proving why one's position is always correct and the opposing position is always wrong. Instead, it attempts to put different strands of thought in dialogue with one another to achieve the best possible result.

President Obama's speech strikes me as an impressive display of "Both/And" thinking because it actively rejects the polarizing, "Either/Or" nature of the way our foreign relations were conducted during the last administration (as an aside, just as I don't agree with all of President Obama's positions, I didn't always disagree with all of President Bush's positions). In addressing the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinians, President Obama acknowledged that both Israel and Palestine have done wrong and caused suffering to the other, and that both sides have to make compromises for lasting peace to be achieved.

I don't think I've heard an American President ever criticize Israel in public remarks. I seriously doubt that all of the Presidents since Truman have thought that Israel never does anything wrong, but I believe they were keenly aware of the "Either/Or" nature of most political discourse and were afraid of what would happen if they ever dared challenge such polarizing thinking. Uncritical "Either/Or" thinking is largely responsible for many of the moral disgraces of the last decade, especially the use of torture against enemy combatants. One either unquestioningly supported the Bush administration's prosecution of the War on Terror, or they were unpatriotic and didn't love America.

Perhaps in another post I'll talk about how I see "Either/Or" thinking's destructive power at play in religious dialogue as well. For now I'll just say that regardless of our political affiliation, I hope we can all look to President Obama's speech today as a great example of "Either/Or" thinking and how it demonstrates a positive way for us to move forward and work out our differences together.