Let Justice Be Done...
“Let justice be done though the heavens may fall.”
This phrase goes back to ancient times and was recently popularized on the TV series, Breaking Bad. As I am writing my memoir, it resonates with me. First, to give me courage to speak my truths about harms I experienced as a child, but no sooner do I start down that path, I am left with the question:What is justice, though?Surely, it exists mainly in the mind of the beholder, as one person’s injury is another’s pleasure, just as one person’s trash is another person’s treasure. Navigating the entire concept of justice (more than just in the halls of same) is an assignment perfectly made for us students of consciousness.Justice, perhaps more than anything else, can only be found in nuance and context. It will never settle down on the sofa for a long night of entertainment — no, it demands of us to be awake and alert for the signals that will lead us out of this morass of wishful black and white thinking.The first place I always turn to for this type of work, is to separate the child mind from the adult mind. Remember, there are many child minds living in adult bodies, so you can’t know who or what you’re dealing with merely by taking in the external appearance of one who is spouting so-called absolute truths, the spray coming out like water through a crusty, clogged faucet screen, spewing in random directions, not just straight ahead.In other words, we decipher our conversational compatriots by listening, before assenting or dissenting. We cannot know for sure who they are or what they’re up to by looking at a few superficial details, be they age, gender, attire, and so on. Though its tempting to lump people into “OK Boomers” and the rest, it’s frankly a waste of time. More problematically, it contributes to a problem rather than solving a problem, no matter how much the childish brain wants things simplified, easy peasy, so as to make a snap judgment, feel smugly correct, and move on.
No, that’s not how we do it.
We instead engage the adult brain which is a miracle of being able to entertain, or rather engage with, multiple contradictory facts. It often takes a minute for the adult brain to wake up, after having been snoozing in the easy-going flow of a simple life, or after assuming one-sidedness from the shock of a horrible deed. No, there is always more to the story and this news gathering is how we arrive at bigger truths, at nuanced truths, at inconvenient truths.I’m heartened at how the public discourse has both softened and clarified a week after the Hamas massacre in Israel. We’ve had the opportunity to learn from history that no matter how compelling revenge feels, how righteously it worms its way into our brains, it is in fact the least effective response.Because it is a child’s response. A response that belies the enormous power at hand should adult brains be able to engage.
Here are a few facts and examples from my reading today:
@paddycosgraveI’m shocked at the rhetoric and actions of so many Western leaders & governments, with the exception in particular of Ireland’s government, who for once are doing the right thing. War crimes are war crimes even when committed by allies, and should be called out for what they are.From Democracy Now!:Israeli historian and genocide scholar Raz Segal says Israeli leaders' dehumanizing language about Palestinians in Gaza and the IDF's conduct are cause for alarm. "We're seeing the combination of genocidal acts with special intent. This is indeed a textbook case of genocide."@_waleedshahidWALLACE SHAWN is inconceivably here at the White House with @IfNotNowOrg and @JvpAction demanding President Biden fight for a ceasefire and end the killing of Palestinian and Israeli civilians.In Washington, DC today, there is a growing protest (primarily led by Jewish people) against further violence in Israel and Gaza.He is carrying a sign that says “My grief is not your weapon.”
So it is possible to rise above revenge and escalation, to pause and breathe and question: what is my true goal here? Can I look beyond the end of my own nose and find a more just response to unjust actions? Who, really, deserves to be held to account? Innocent civilians (who in Gaza average only 16 years of age) or the political leaders who have toyed with humanity on all sides of every border to expand their power through greed?“To see what is in front of one’s nose needs a constant struggle.”― George OrwellChildren are easily manipulated, precisely because of their undeveloped brains. But we adults, we have neurologically mature cerebellums. They may be suffering from lack of use, but they can be woken up and brought online to serve us solutions that are not tit for tat, and that are certainly not genocidal.Lest we all think none of this affects us here in our homes away from the Middle East, umm, excuse me, it does. We each have a daily opportunity to set aside a grudge and replace it with grace. We have a choice to pursue legal redress when appropriate, without filling our hearts with toxicity. We can choose to take the time to examine if a grievance was truly deliberate or itself the side effect of unconscious thinking and acting. So many options, few of which require escalation.To read and not do, is to not really make a difference in on’e own life as well as others. Surely there is a grievance you are carrying that you can let go of today? A slight that you ruminate over day in and day out that in the larger scheme of things no longer really matters? A wound you’ve let fester on and off Facebook that you no longer want to carry to your grave? I promise you, letting go of these things elevates your spirit and contrary to little kid think, it is not unnecessary surrender or letting others take advantage of you. Forgiveness with consciousness is some of the best doormat prevention I know. Letting go of the grudge makes literal space in your being for more clarity and strength — the two things that help you not fall into pits of other people’s trickery or harm.The bottom line for me, is, what quality of world do I want to be part of? Does my decision to overlook a slight from a friend weaken me or does it perhaps strengthen me? The kinds of muscles we build will help determine the kinds of houses we create. I prefer a lot of glass, to let the light in, not thick walls of steel armoring me against nature.Sometimes the path to feeling better is through struggling against instinct, and arriving at a destination with sunshine and clear air, even if the flowers are not yet blooming. It makes sense, now, that “Lady Justice” is often represented blind-folded. Sometimes the facts before us are so horrid that we must retreat to a state of inner wisdom before falling down the path of revenge.