“We are hard pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed.” – 2 Corinthians 4:8-9
Dear Friends,
I look up from scrolling the news on my phone and stand silently in front of my office’s whiteboard. With a large, thick red-ink marker, I write one word and underline it twice: “Resilience.” I take a deep breath and step back.
Last Sunday, I met with the women from Mothers-in-Charge, a national organization comprised of women who have lost their children to gun violence. The women have come to Cranaleith to find a way to tell their stories–preparing for a presentation to an audience of 300 teenage boys scheduled for later that week. The passion, purpose, and intent of their shared storytelling bring us all to tears. Even through the loss and the grief and the mourning, we hear, too, the Absolute Mystery at the heart of it all—in the wonder, support, and hope.
In his book Bounce: Living the Resilient Life, Dr. Robert Wicks notes that “it is not the amount of darkness in the world that matters. It is not even the amount of darkness in ourselves that matters. It is how we stand in the darkness that makes all the difference in how we lead our lives in ways that positively impact others as well as ourselves.” Bob should know. For over 30 years, he has been responding to psychological trauma of nearly unimaginable dimensions world-wide. In 1994, he was responsible for tending to the relief workers evacuated from Rwanda during their civil war. He tended the healthcare workers responsible for the Iraqi war veterans suffering amputations and severe head injuries. He calls for an “inner psychological and spiritual space” that includes: “A need for silence in the midst of noise; A need for gratitude in the face of unbelievable greed; A need for contemplation [or mindfulness meditation] in a century of action….A need for humility to counteract the arrogance of power.” He writes that “the goal is to live in a compassionate way of giving of ourselves to others, rooted in personal resilience and an ethos that values what is truly good” (p. 9).
At Cranaleith, we stand with all who are mourning, wounded, struggling, seeking. Most days it feels as if everyone seeks what we do, what we are, here at Cranaleith. Children, teenagers, adult women caregivers, men, veterans, professionals, everyone. All of humanity. Rich, poor, middle-class, white, black, Spanish-speaking, Catholic, Jewish, Muslim … When we meet with the staff from the Philadelphia Community Relations Unit of Family Court, they let us know they have dozens of girls eager to enroll in our Violence Intervention Prevention program’s track for teenagers. Through our partnership organization, WE: Women Empowered, we are enrolling thirty-five young women who are scheduled to attend a contemplative practice program this March. At the Center, every weekend from now until June is booked. On March 9, we are hosting Bob Wicks and Gloria Donnelly to talk about “Care of the Hopeful Heart: Resilience and Well-Being in the Healthcare Setting.”
Cranaleith offers a place of courage, healing, peace and hope. Join us. Find your story. Find your resilience. Find in stillness, inspiration and wholeness. Stand together, here, with us. We don’t have a minute to lose.
In Peace and Mercy,
Dawn Hayward
Executive Director
