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| At Portland International Airport, 1/5/22 |
There are countless different ways that we can act to make a difference. And there’s so much need.
One new experience that my husband and I have just begun is working as volunteers assisting Afghan refugees arriving to the Portland/Vancouver area. Here we are in the picture above just before greeting refugees at Portland’s airport two nights ago following our first time welcoming the night before. Yesterday Ron and I went on to greet a large family and assist in transporting their belongings from the airport to their new home. Today we were also able to help yet other refugees move into their new apartment.
Ron also made these welcome signs in both languages. (He is such a gifted artist.) And I love how my husband is also able to speak some Dari that he remembers from the year that he lived and worked in Iran in the late 70s before the revolution. Ron also visited Afghanistan during that time and has shared many beautiful things about the culture. Many of the people who worked for my husband in the construction jobs in Iran were also from Afghanistan. So there's this connection. And these are beautiful human beings who have suffered so much trauma and loss.
We are learning as we go and realizing that there are many ways that we can help. This is just a beginning. This feels wonderful to do. And it can also be painful to hear these glimpses into some of their stories. It is one thing to watch the news and hear the horrors and heartbreaks of peoples in far away lands. It's another experience to be eye to eye, breathing the same air, and feeling the pain of a human being who has left everything and everyone they knew and loved to come here... and knowing that the ones left behind struggle to eat and to be safe.
That said, it is such an honor and blessing to be part of the solution. I can become overwhelmed when I think about the horrors and atrocities of the 20 year war in Afghanistan and the horrors and atrocities that continue to happen in its wake. One of my ways of coping with the consciousness of the great suffering, loss, and trauma of others is to engage in doing something, anything to help. Even the simplest of things can mean so much. Like holding a welcome sign. And, at times when there is no shared language, just smiling through our eyes and touching our hearts.
My belief is that we are all connected, all related, all family. And consequently, it is always a mutual gift and blessing when we communicate: I see you. You matter. I care.
One important intention that I’ve been holding for 2022 is to increase my engagement in different forms of activism. I think of this as sacred activism. I am grateful to know that the diversity of forms that love in action can take are endless. And now that my husband and I are both retired, we are able to step up as elders and increasingly contribute our part.
There are so many opportunities out there for all of us who are able and looking to act and expand the ways that we can contribute to alleviating suffering and adding to the heartfelt caring and well-being of our fellow humans and other beings. I’m really grateful to my husband for finding this new way for us that is such a good fit.
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