Last week, Bangor Theological Seminary (BTS) in Maine invited indigenous author, lawyer and activist Sherri Mitchell to speak with a panel of religious leaders. The title of the interview was “Weaving Threads in a Time of Unraveling.” I love the way indigenous wisdom reminds me so much of Celtic Spirituality and Christianity. At one point during the interview, Rev. Nicole Diroff from BTS shouted “Preach!” It was an inspirational ninety minutes.
In the vein of Jesus’ teaching to be “wise as serpents and harmless as doves”, Sherri shared her 80-10-10 rule:
That is, spend 10% of our time noticing what is causing harm. Look around and see what has been set in motion. Become aware, do not hide from it, do not ignore it. That is extremely hard these days when everywhere we turn, we see harm.
The second 10% of your time involves taking a stand and stopping the harm that is occurring. This is not a forceful stance. It means not allowing harm to take place while not causing harm in return. If I can figure out how to do this with 10% of my time, I’ll let you know.
And the rest of the 80% is focusing on breathing life into the world we want to inhabit. Let those words sink in, imagining that world and bringing it to life. In other words, be co-creators with God in a world that we want to see birthed. Live into a new story.
That is a lovely rule. It seems that when we realize we have been co-creators of the harm that has been done because of our consumerism, greed, ego (I could go on and on) we become aware that we can also be co-creators of the solution, that we can live in ways of peace and harmony.
As Creation Justice Ministry’s leader Avery Lamb said, “We are called to remember, repent, repair and reimagine.” The Easter story reimagines that new way of life, where violence and destruction do not have the last word.
As spring continues to cover the earth, hardy buds are reawakening and pushing up through the cold soil. Even when we get snowstorm upon snowstorm, the tiny little crocuses and daffodils are standing strong; the ferns are peaking out. Wake up! It’s spring!