I have been a part of two recent events with youth, which has me thinking about the future.聽 News headlines and most prognostications about the state of the world are depressing.聽 If climate change doesn鈥檛 spell the end, then the continued hatred and destruction of one group of human beings by others will do us in.聽 It is a significant spiritual practice of our time to look for the glimmers and glimpses of silver linings that can be found.聽 And an even richer practice to take those shining moments and places and turn them in to sustenance, fuel for continued efforts toward a sustainable existence for us all.聽 Where can we find hope these days?聽 Are they any signs that point away from despair and toward possibility?
The conversations I was a part of with high school and middle school youth were uplifting and inspiring.聽 No one said anything revolutionary or came up with a way to avert disaster, but I could see and sense deep engagement with big questions.聽 There was commitment to moving beyond name-calling toward more understanding and empathy.聽 There was a clear sense that blaming people who are different from us for the troubles of the world is not only untrue, it is demeaning (both of them and of ourselves).聽 There were probing questions asked in an effort to see the whole, the complexity in thorny and challenging issues.
Ostensibly, our topics were diversity and the current religious/spiritual landscape, but the conversations were wide-ranging.聽 By the end of each I realized we were talking about nothing less than the purpose of our lives.聽 What can any of us do to impact the wider world?聽 How much do any of the decisions and choices we make matter?聽 What sort of ripple-effect do our lives have?聽 Whether we are 13 or 85 such questions tend to stick with us and occasionally even haunt us.聽
Toward the end of one of the conversations, the topic turned to redemption and second chances.聽 How well are we doing, this middle schooler wanted to know, at allowing people to make up for mistakes?聽 Do people get a chance to try again?聽 As I walked back to my car to leave it occurred to me that you can expand that question to all of humankind.聽 Can we make up for our mistakes and poor decisions?聽 Can we find a way to reverse climate change and promote an end to systemic oppressions (racism, ableism, economic inequality, etc.)?聽 Can we muster the courage and self awareness and insight needed to live in such a way that might auger this sort of titanic shift?聽 I am not sure.聽 On my worst days, I think 鈥渘ot a chance鈥�.聽 On days like these two recently, when I looked into the eyes of those finding their way in this beautiful and fragile world, I think 鈥渕aybe, just maybe鈥�.
Rev. Shana Lynngood聽is co-minister of First Unitarian Church of Victoria. She has lived and served in Victoria since 2010.
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* This article was published in the print edition of the Times 91原创 on Saturday, April 30 2016
