5h • General discussion
Loving the hard ones
The MOM call last night was really powerful and supportive of me. Thank you all. Today a Facebook memory came up that related to how we love others, even the most challenging others, including the ways they are very different from us. This was from March 19, 2020, just after the pandemic began (and I was a month into ML).
"I have some sad news to share. A month ago, when we were all living in a different world, my dear, shining friend Fiona Heckscher, died. It was an accident while rock climbing in Utah. She fell in such a way her safety gear did not save her. She was brought home and her family was able to have a private memorial for her before things went into lockdown. I’m grateful they had that time to be together before it was necessary we all keep apart.
Her loss is a loss to all of us. Literally, of all the people I’ve ever known, I cannot think of a more loving soul than Fiona. She loved the WORLD. Everyone. Even people she had never known and would never know. Her work on Capitol Hill, as a non-partisan lawyer who helped craft legislation such that it would be clear and concise, put her into contact with all sorts of people. She worked to see the best in every one of them. I wish to share a conversation we had one time that illustrates this:
We were at a gathering of friends and the talk had turned political. I don’t recall exactly what I said, but I’m pretty sure it was close to, “Fuck Mitch McConnell! He’s a hypocritical piece of shit.” (Whatever you think about that statement, I’m going to tell you it was not my finest moment.)
Fiona stepped in close to me, placed her hand on my arm gently, and said, “Dear one, I love you. And I can hear the frustration in your voice. As you know, I have no political opinions (this was something she said often, and with a wink). If I did, they would probably not line up with Mitch McConnell’s. But I have met him in person. And he was very kind to me. And I got the impression he was doing his best to do what he felt was right. So do you think it would be possible for you not to hate him?”
Light as a feather. Sharp as a razor.
I looked down at Fiona (she was tiny) and said, “Well shit...I guess I could do that for you, Fiona.”
She smiled up at me and said, “I’ll take it!...But I do hope that, someday, you’ll do it because it would mean there is less hate in the world.”
And that’s how she was. She went through the world having conversations like that every chance she could. Not judging or condemning the way anyone wanted to be. But always suggesting the possibility of a little more kindness and love.
She has departed. But, as the consummate outdoorswoman she was, she observed the “Campsite Rule”: Leave the place better than you found it. In my particular case, she left me with an obligation to look for the good in others, even when my darker impulses would have me despise them, to the benefit of nobody. That is a very bright torch to have passed, and it feels very heavy in my hand right now.
I would take it as a kindness if you could sometimes help me carry it."
1
1 comment
Loving the hard ones
powered by
skool.com/embodying-greatness-1039
The Happy Human collective is a space to grow, heal, create, and rise together. Real humans. Real growth. Real joy.
Suggested communities
Powered by