I listened to a Podcast while I cleaned out the pantry! It was an episode from On Being. Krista Tippett interviewed Mahzarin Banaji whose research is about our inherent "blindspots" when it comes to prejudice or assumptions about others. You can listen to the interview here. It was very insightful and challenging!
I also spent some time reading the book I am immersed in at the moment:The Storyteller by Jodi Picoult. I should warn you that this is not a book for the faint hearted. It interweaves the stories of a Nazi SS guard and a Jewish woman who was sent to Auschwitz. Now 70 years later their lives are connected through the grand daughter of the Jewish woman. I haven't finished the book yet but already I see how easy it is to make assumptions about people when you don't know the whole story. The ex-Nazi is now seeking forgiveness... I don't know whether the Auschwitz survivor or the grand daughter will be able to give it.
Then finally I got back to my journal review project. I opened the journal I'm currently reading through and it literally fell open at this quote I had recorded in 2006: "There is only one perpetrator of evil on the planet: human unconsciousness. That realization is true forgiveness. With forgiveness your victim identity dissolves and your true power emerges - the power of Presence. Instead of blaming the darkness, you bring in the light." Eckhart Tolle A New Earth p160
You never know when you get up in the morning what amazing synchronicities may emerge! I'm still reflecting on the outworking of these themes in my life.
