A Letter to My Children
You like to tease me, reminding me of how poor my memory is. In many cases you’re right, but I clearly remember each of your births. How quickly the physical pain gave way to the immense joy of holding you in my arms. How your father and I would look back and forth from you to each other, awestruck by your tiny perfection. As you grew, those looks continued, sometimes with emotions less than awe, but always with great love. It was our desire to teach you the way of Love.
I remember our discussions at the dinner table, sometimes silly and sometimes very deep, answering your bigger questions about life and the world in which you were immersed. You were finding your way, trying out possibilities, coming into your own. As you matured, I learned to stand back and become less the protector and more the encourager. Sometimes I stood in the background, letting you learn from the moments life handed you: setting a small fire in the school greenhouse (in the name of science), not getting first chair because you were too young, being bullied because you didn’t fit the “image” of a middle school athlete. How often a mother’s heart is pierced by a sword as her children grow and learn to live in this world.
You now live lives over which I really have no control, which is how it should be; my job as formator is done and you must forge your way with the tools your father and I have tried to provide you as well as those you have discovered for yourselves over the years. While I may still lose sleep over you on occasion (I will always be your mother), your adult choices fill me with pride. My love for you deepens every day.
What I never could have imagined when you were little were the challenges we all face today. So if you will listen, I want to speak from my heart.
The novel coronavirus is real. It moves across the globe stealing lives and inducing fear wherever it goes. We have seen such things before: the bubonic plague in the Middle Ages, measles outbreaks killing thousands of Native Americans, polio killing and crippling your grandparents’ generation. Respect the virus – for it will not respect you. Take the recommended precautions, not just for yourselves but for the people who live around you. How easy it is to be swayed by those who breathe gloom and doom or those who tell you the virus doesn’t exist. Don’t rely on politicians or armchair pundits for answers; too many of them are worried about gaining or retaining power, about building themselves up while tearing others down. Learn the truth and acknowledge and put into action proven scientific findings. It took years to understand how the plague was transmitted, why the Native Americans succumbed to European diseases in such huge numbers, and how important it was to find a vaccine for polio. Respect the virus, but don’t let fear keep you isolated and alone. Break the chain of fear.
Oppression is always wrong. It is the easiest way for those in power to retain their power, or for those longing for power to gain it. We have seen this played out from the beginning of time until today in every corner of the world. Oppression takes many forms and affects all people. Throughout history we have enslaved one another for money, for power, for sex, for cruelty. Go back and relearn history; don’t rely on your memories of high school or college history classes, for our biases are old and deep, but learn again for yourselves how we have oppressed and been oppressed, realizing the importance of looking closely at our own actions before decrying the actions of others. Speak up, protest, challenge. You will effect change as long as your daily living shows love and respect for each person you meet, whether face to face or online, no matter his or her story. Break the chain of oppression.
Beware of anarchy. For centuries it has been a tool to overthrow oppressive regimes. Too often, though, anarchy has been used to usher in a new form of oppression. Power is seductive and can be used for good or for evil. Before putting your strength behind a movement, no matter its cause, discern the motives and the ways in which the power of the movement is being wielded. You never have to blindly follow someone else’s “rules” to be an agent for change. Break the chain of intimidation.
You, my children, are living in difficult times. Take heart, though, for your family has lived through and flourished during difficult times for hundreds of years. Take confidence in their sacrifices and their love. Remind yourselves daily that the world does not “owe” you anything. Live each day with integrity. Search for the truth in all things. Live your lives knowing how much you are loved and that you are worthy of that love. Eat dinner together, talking over things silly and things of great magnitude, passing on to your children the values your father and I tried to hand on to you. If you will follow a path to peace, justice and freedom, remember to do it not by blindly accepting the calls to “Free Barabbas,” but to answer instead the call of the one who died in his place.
