[Dialogue] Where do yo find authentic engagement?

[AWOODEWM at aol.com]

David's “looking back” over his own life really struck a nerve and caused me 
to reflect on some of the key moments in my own life and to recall those 
times that I felt truly ‘alive.’   

In every case my decision to engage in those activities alienated my parents 
(that I held dear) who had instilled the values that caused me to make those 
decisions in the first place...ironic.

As I “look back”... it was during World War 11 when I left the University of 
Michigan to join the Navy (I truly felt such passion...I thought I was Joan 
of Arc) I was   assigned to do invasion maps and charts at the Hydrographic 
office in Washington.....it was when I took part in the march from Selma.....it 
was being a part of the movement and where ever that led me.....it was in the 
midst of those activities that I felt alive and yes, believed that I was, as we 
used to say.....”bending history.” 

Today, I feed the homeless when it's my church's “turn”, I serve on the 
diaconate, I read to little children once a week in a child care program in an 
underprivileged neighborhood, I am a member of a group of women that are trying 
to engage in activities that will have some relevance in the midst of this 
countries sickening political morass.....but at the end of the day...all of this 
seems (and is) “hit-or-miss.” 

As wild and wacky (forgive me) as “the movement” was I think we all believed 
body and soul that we were engaged in something that truly made a 
difference...and in looking back I am persuaded that it did....(is it “in the light of 
history” yet)? 

I sense that David's pain and his question (and mine) is..... where can you 
find that kind of (hopefully) authentic engagement today? or as David said: “
where do we plug in? How do we make the difference we're capable of making? 
Where is the key...the whistle point? 

Somehow I have trouble saying.....”you’re 84 you deserve a time out.”

It's not the size or the importance of the task...(ie: "the white pocket 
handkerchief") but   how does it fit into the big picture? I guess what I am 
struggling with is “context.”


   


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