Be still as a picture.
Draw upon the wisdom of four seasons.
The texture of a cloud, the green of a lake, the scent of sod, the cool under thatch.
The translucence of a tear.
The light in the eye of a child.
A mischievous moment, full of the deep wisdom of innocence.
Sit still as you walk.
Still as you walk, as you walk, still as you…
We are made for the world. And so we will need to come to maturity in the world. To dream of an escape through epiphany, through rapture, through indifference to human suffering, or through tolerance of violence, is to doom ourselves to adolescence. Engagement with the realities that surround us, terrifying or otherwise, is our only hope.
Programs, projects, missions–political or religious–that emphasize group identity or national security, that are premised upon technique and efficiency, diminish our possibilities by fencing ourselves off from reality. And so we turn neighbours into antagonists, see enemies as inhuman, and secure our comfort at the inevitable expense of the poor.
We need people of action–not people of activity. But being a person of action and not merely activity, is always risking being misunderstood, ignored, judged, derided, disliked, or vilified. But an even greater struggle for the true activist is in facing her own self doubts, illusions, disillusions, and self-intoxication. Courage to sit with these, to explore what they might teach, is the necessary work of an activist. The true activist does not lose herself in that embrace, she only learns the truth about herself and is therefore capable of true engagement with the world.
Who has a wide vision? Who acts for human maturity? Who continues to act in the apparent absence of promise? Who acts with faith that our broken acts of compassion are yet redeemable by a larger spirit? Who understands that there is something greater at work, but that this larger spirit is only released through local acts of mercy and charity?
As Christians, our job is to disappear in the world and join the ranks of all those doing the work of personal disarmament, of creative protest, of active peace, of love. That is, as Christians, our job may very well be to become non-Christian.
We rounded a gentle bend on the Manning Freeway and saw the line of cars stretching into the horizon. We were heading out to dig potatoes, a free offering by Gordon Visser—one farmer among many—deeply concerned about land-use surrounding the city of Edmonton. His idea? A big potato give-away.
I had imagined a few dozen, perhaps a hundred like-minded urbanites enjoying sun and the soil while picking a few pounds of spuds. Sure, free is nice, but they’re just tubers—so no one was prepared for the response. Miles of cars, thousands of people, good-natured, waiting for hours, taters gone by early afternoon. We stopped, admired the scene, and left.
Back in June, alerted by farmers at our local Market Garden, we attended a city council meeting where the Greater Edmonton Alliance proposed amendments to the city’s development plan. They called on the councillors to consider the impact on local food production and think carefully before making decisions about converting farmland.
Alliance members told councillors the city has collected little information about the value of the remaining agricultural land, its food production value or how it could contribute to the local economy. The group says such information should be crucial in making land-use decisions.
You would think! There are models to follow where harmonization can occur between residential clusters and farm plots, allowing the city an adequate tax-base while supporting local food production.
It’s depressing enough (in a micro-climate that enjoys the most frost-free days in Alberta) seeing some of the best top-soil in the province stripped and pushed into piles exposing acres of hardpan for the planting of industry and conurbation. But to farm here, seeing this day after day, must make one heart-sick. Obviously it did for Visser. He gave away over 45,000 kg. of potatoes in an effort to draw back the curtain on the problem.
Putting his murphies where his mouth is, Mr. Visser has done more for raising awareness of GEA’s concerns than years of lobbying could do. Now it’s up to us to make sure his grand and generous gesture takes root.
This article published in the Edmonton Journal yesterday was a small expansion of a previous post. International Peace Day being September 21, it was also five days late, and so was edited accordingly. Nevertheless the important parts were retained. Basically it’s me banging my drum again.
