Last week during our weekly spirituality night at the Mission Corps community I introduced an activity inspired by NPR's This I Believe Segment. This I Believe is a segment on NPR that features 2-3 minute essays about the core values by which people choose to guide their lives. To begin the activity, I played two of my own favorite This I Believe clips.
The first one was entitled "Community in Action" and was penned and spoken by the late Studs Terkel of Chicago. You can listen to it here: thisibelieve.org/essay/37/
The second one, by Majora Carter, shares about her experiences growing up in the South Bronx and coming back home to it later in life. You can hear Majora's This I Believe, entitled This is Home, here: http://thisibelieve.org/essay/57047/
The culmination of our spirituality night was to write and share our own This I Believe statements. Maggie, Claire, our friend Becky, and myself each wrote one. I will share each of these over the next couple weeks. To begin, I will share my own.
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The I Believe
Becca Little
I believe that the delicate balance between love of self and love of other is what will heal the world.
I was raised by an incredible, selfless woman. I have never seen such devotion to others as in my Mother's call to care for her patients as she runs her own family medical practice. Nor have I seen such incredible humility as in my mom's constant refusal to receive praise for the work (she has, for the past ten years, been selected as on of Delaware's "Top Docs" but refuses to let them print her name on the list). Often I am stopped in public by her patients so that they might tell me of the innumerable ways she has saved their lives. She has, quite literally, saved lives. She works tirelessly and
Alternatively, I have seen the toll my mother's dogged, tireless efforts have taken on her health and the hardship it causes my family. Her ceaseless love for others comes at a cost.
I believe deeply that in order to accomplish a balance between self and other, we must accept the help, love and support of those around us. Balance and wholeness come from mutuality of love and work, not from the constant giving of oneself without accepting and receiving also.
From my mother I have learned how to give away my unconditional love, how to work diligently for the world I believe in. I have also learned if I do not love myself enough to care for myself, to accept the help of others when I am run down, that my diligent and ceaseless work and love will have been for naught.
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Peace be with you during this week, I would love to hear from you about what your This I Believe statements include.
- Becca
Becca, I love this activity. Thanks for sharing about your amazing mother. Balance is the key to wholeness. Perhaps we can do this at the Center with the staff and clients.
ReplyDeletePeace,
Pat