Episode 45: The Presence of Evil, the Promise of Loving Kindness
Parker & Carrie talk about holding and acknowledging the simultaneous presence of great evil and great goodness in our world. In this open-hearted conversation, they visit two poems that encourage reflection and insights on this topic, holding the tension between the helplessness we sometimes feel and our need to maintain hope and agency. Below is the first poem we read in the podcast.
What I Have Learned So Far by Mary Oliver
Meditation is old and honorable, so why should I
not sit, every morning of my life, on the hillside,
looking into the shining world? Because, properly
attended to, delight, as well as havoc, is suggestion.
Can one be passionate about the just, the
ideal, the sublime, and the holy, and yet commit
to no labor in its cause? I don't think so.
All summations have a beginning, all effect has a
story, all kindness begins with the sown seed.
Thought buds toward radiance. The gospel of
light is the crossroads of—indolence, or action.
Be ignited, or be gone.