This is a blog that was triggered. I react to triggers. I guess we all do. I recently watched a vlog about how the new Doctor Who triggered a negative reaction (whereas of course Doctor Who should trigger lots of positive reaction)! Not long after this I was watching a protest march and wondered "What triggers these people to get off their behinds and actually take action?" Even more bizarre was the recent London naked bike ride which I happened to encounter while strolling through Trafalgar square - what triggers someone to ride naked through London (or perhaps it's mere exhibitionism)? Triggers give rise to good and bad outcomes, but sometimes it's our role to be the trigger. There's a definite relationship between the level of trigger needed and how closely personal the outcome is, before action results. For example, a newspaper article on the Ebola tragedy in Liberia: I feel unease. But then when I get more details - see images - and the unease becomes concern, and concern leads to action (in this case cancelling a trip through west Africa). But even that action is very worrying as I realized I was more emotionally moved by questions of my own exposure to Ebola than I was by the suffering that’s going on. Now that is really disturbing! Yet when I met someone who's young child has substantial medical challenges, suddenly there is a trigger to my empathy, and additional triggers to memories of when my daughter nearly died, and it triggers this blog post. Triggers usually catch us unawares. What triggers my (re-)actions? Apathy, certainly. Inefficient driving, definitely. Rudeness, absolutely. Irrationality almost always! But those are momentary responses (which in no way excuses my reaction). But the sustained reactions, the ones that sit on me persistently, are triggered into overdrive most often when I encounter people who live with a fundamental disconnect between what they say they believe, and how they live. This irks me! Granted, none of us are perfect, but at least we should try! There are two areas where I encounter this trigger more than anywhere else; in "new atheism" where the advocates behave as if its a religion, and with religious people who behave like atheists - especially some Christians. The latter are really disturbing; how can some Christians make the claims they do, and yet live as if they don't? (And then of course there's also climate change denial'ism ... that freaks me out too! I sometimes think there's a special hell for those who, by choice, contribute to the suffering of future generations while denying their culpability.)
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I've been in and around a number of public protest marches. Last week I was with about a thousand people thronging through the streets of Bristol to raise a voice against the intransigence of the world's leaders on climate change. The outfits, noise, colour, tattoos, banners, and passionate rhetoric were infectious, and one wondered how observers could stand by and watch with such passive faces. I was also in a church service recently. The relatively small number of people were notably inanimate. Meanwhile the worship team at the front were investing their creative expression with obvious heartfelt passion. The sounds, expressions, and body language of the team clearly displayed their inner feelings. They would surely have been deeply depressed if it were not for the fact that they were worshipping God. No amount of passivity around them could change that reality. It's hard not to draw the parallels (or lack thereof) between church and public marches. Some people invest heart and soul; the cadence of their voices communicates the depth of their feeling, their passion, the joyful highs, the depths of concerns - these are people who expose their inner self because they know truth. Others seem to choose to suppress. I listen to some Christians speaking about Christ, and the passion is muted, the glories understated in their body and inflection, the distresses of lives and the world are discussed in even tones. To actually engage the emotions that go with the thoughts is surely what it means to live totally. Why then does the topic of Jesus seem to lead people to become emotionally suppressed? It doesn't happen with sport, it's not a factor at parties, and we never hold back our outbursts at perceived personal injustices. Perhaps it is an attempt to find a secure zone when confronted by a disturbing reality by trying to claim an objective wisdom that rises above those showing personal emotion? I wonder if those who become seemingly introverted in the presence of Christian topics are actually scared to engage with the reality of the world around them (and perhaps those who adopt an extrovert expression are scared of the reality inside)? (Plane-time reflections about someone) She's a walking war zone. Inside her head is a fiery battleground; there she wrestles with the doubts, anger, and confusions that compete with joy and compassion. She is honest. Absolutely. That is her burden. Most would settle for a winner, choosing to lose one or other battle simply to find the peace of surrender. She says "All I see and feel is real, and though I cannot understand, I will not hide from them." She walks through life leaving in her wake peace and transformation. She is not obvious to many, until they feel her touch. She takes into herself the strength from other's turmoil, leaving peace in it's place. She struggles, for the battles are exhausting, though most would not perceive it. In each situation she sees the edges; contrasts between good and evil, boundaries that outline the harsh realities hiding behind pervasive mists of supposed pleasure. She is gifted, though she denies it. She is blessed, though she would argue it. Yet she is simply trying to live as she was created to be. Those who would love her find they must share her angst, though they may wish to avoid it. Why, if we will do this with one who is here and now, will we not do this with Jesus? Its a wonder the human race is still alive. Each of us is like a walking grenade - granted, some have the pin deeply buried, yet others walk around with their finger in the ring.
Our society is like a landscape clothed in tinder dry vegetation. The heat builds while the collective and unacknowledged personal stresses increase like a hot wind, moving us ever closer to ignition. I wonder which flashpoints led to the ISIS, Rwanda, Ukraine, Sudan, Columbine, Sharpeville, or Michael Brown situations - to select just a fraction of possible examples. And then there are all the unpublicised occurrences; murders, spouse abuse, beating children, and of course all the personal events we'd rather like to ignore. A dry landscape needs rain. Christians are called to be the fire service; to douse the flames in water and follow up with forensics to understand, and to monitor so it doesn't flare up again. Yet the Christians (mostly) stand hidden in plain sight with all the crowds of observers, collectively sounding the "Ooooh, isn't that terrible" chorus as a way to make us think we've responded appropriately. Or worse, we join the hate speech by giving voice to our anger simply to make ourselves feel better. And so what goes around comes around. (ISIS, are you listening?) |
Why?
Probably the best therapy is to express yourself. Why do you think psychiatrists make you lie on the couch and talk, while all they do is murmur "hmmm", "uhuh", or "go on"? Archives
May 2017
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