While at a national Bridging Movement Summit held at George Washington’s Mount Vernon Estate last week, I heard a number that lifted my heart. I learned that there are over 11,000 groups working in America to bridge divides and strengthen democracy.
https://www.nationalcivicleague.org/2024-healthy-democracy/
Some are very small; many are quite large. All are building relationships that build bridges across difference.The link includes a map of where these various groups are operating across the country. (Click on a location and learn the name of the group.)
The Summit, which gathered several hundred people working in scores of different bridge building groups, provided a jolt of hope as we hear and feel the effects of more dissension, violence and vengeance.The combination of the gathering, and the data provided by the national civic league reminded me of a quote from Margaret Mead, (American anthropologist,1901-1978) who famously remarked, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”
We need to have our hearts lifted, and our souls renewed as more national guard troops are being deployed in various American cities (or threatening to be deployed), as indictments are being issued that are brazenly and politically motivated, as millions of people are on the threshold of losing their health care or being deported, as the accusation of ‘domestic terrorist’ is being casually and cruelly applied. It is important to draw strength from the many resources, commitments and displays of courage that so many people are providing to their communities in the face of such aggression.
Despite the swirling turmoil and tension we are experiencing these days, I find that there are examples and efforts that fill me with gratitude. As described by Henri Nouwen (1932-1996), a Catholic priest and writer who has had such a profound influence on so many of us over the years, “gratitude is not a simple emotion or an obvious attitude. It is a difficult discipline in which I constantly reclaim my whole past as the concrete way God has led me to this moment and is sending me into the future. It is hard precisely because it challenges me to face my painful moments – experiences of rejection and abandonment, feelings of loss and failure – and gradually to discover in them the pruning hands of God purifying my heart for deeper love, stronger hope, and broader faith.”
Henri was speaking for himself, but as was often the case, his words not only speak to me, but speak for me. Gratitude can often be hard to summon. And yet it is necessary. Gratitude is a discipline. As I continue to see and meet people who are engaged in building bridges across difference, offering healing in the face of pain and fear, and exhibiting faith while in the midst of the maelstrom of hardship and cruelty, I not only take heart, but have my heart renewed and my faith restored.
