We are delighted to share some thoughts from one of our amazing Founding Members Mary Flynn Niemitz:
I think, often, we get stuck on what it means to be generous or to show compassion. We feel we can’t combat all of the darkness in our world. We become inured to the daily messages and images of poverty, disease, war, famine. I wonder sometimes if our hearts were even meant to absorb the pain of our world at a global scale.
One of the beloved, dog-eared books on my shelf was written by an Indian-Albanian Catholic nun who lived most of her life in the slums of Calcutta, Mary Teresa Bojaxhiu, or Mother Teresa. I love that this tiny, feisty nun from the Ottoman Empire started a revolution by loving those who were untouchable. But my favorite excerpt from her book, No Greater Love, is this:
“In order for love to be genuine, it has to be above all a love for our neighbor. We must love those who are nearest to us, in our own family. From there love spreads toward whoever may need us. It is easy to love those who live far away. It is not always easy to love those who live right next door to us. It is easier to offer a dish of rice to meet the hunger of a needy person than to comfort the loneliness and anguish of someone in our own home who does not feel loved.
I want you to go and find the poor in your homes. Above all, your love has to start there. I want you to be the good news to those around you. I want you to be concerned about your next door neighbor. Do you know who your neighbor is?”
Isn’t that convicting!? Mother Teresa reminds us to look in our own homes and neighborhoods: Who is hurting? Who is lonely? This is where compassion must start. We can never meet all of the needs of our world. It’s not a cop-out, it’s reality. But, when we begin to notice those in our own families, neighborhoods, and city who need a lift, a smile, to be cut a break – I think we can rise to that challenge in the name of love and part of a story of hope.
A lighter version of this sentiment that I’ve always loved was written by Anne Lamott: “Earth is forgiveness school. It begins with forgiving yourself, and then, you might as well start at the dinner table. That way, you can do this work in comfortable pants.”
As we begin to plan our holiday gatherings and we anticipate meals with friends and family with whom we disagree (politically, religiously, etc.), it is good to be reminded that the work of compassion starts at our own dinner table. Who is lonely? Who is hurting? How might you show up with love?
Bloom offers a chance to pool our time, our resources, our knowledge, so that we can do more noticing, together, where a bit of good news is needed. Hope you will consider joining us on this journey!
Let’s Bloom together.
