Memory Creates Us Memory is a fluid and unpredictable thing. It changes as we age. Not only do our stories evolve, but we may think about them more or less often, depending on our stage in life. When I was young, I hardly thought about past experiences, except when I rehashed them during therapy, transforming them into something soft that would not keep me up at night. Now my past looms, filling a larger proportion of my possible lifespan, so my history has become more important. In the morning before I rise or during the dark hours of the night, I sometimes think back to childhood and trace the strands…
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Healing Ourselves and Our Nation
Our Hurting Nation Our need for healing is evident. Like much of the rest of the world, we in the United States are in the midst of a pandemic that is overwhelming our capacity to provide care for the sick. Even if we will soon be able to control the virus physiologically, we will continue to reel from the emotional wounds the illness has wrought. Some of our elected officials have minimized the suffering this disease has caused, and minimizing intensifies pain. Because of the virus, tens of millions of people have lost jobs, and barely half of them have found new ones. [1] Social isolation has increased the incidence…
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Rahab, Delilah, and Making Righteous Choices
To the Victor Lies the Story When the battle is over and the dust has settled, the victor frames the story. The vanquished, if they survive, create myths of their own, of course, but since they’re unlikely to mesh with those of their new rulers, the official tale will come from the one who conquered, like American history books written to glorify the white man. In recent years we have begun to be more honest about our past, at least in some parts of our country, but our human tendency is to understand the story from our perspective, to justify our actions, and to condemn those who acted against us.…