This Week from Mitch

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

I don't know about you, but I am thankful for this rain. We sure have needed it. As a young person in Hawaii, tomorrow, May 1, May Day, was one of my favorite days of the year. It was a celebration of island culture, beauty, and most importantly, Aloha. On May Day, students and teachers would wear homemade leis to school, and there would be dances, concerts, paddle-outs, and many other celebrations centered on love and hospitality. Then, on May 2, people would take their leis from May Day and place them on the graves of loved ones. I wonder if we might need more traditions like this.

Recent psychological studies have suggested that chronic stress, burnout, anxiety, and overexposure to violence have led to a collective loss of empathy. Interestingly, as empathy has declined, the diagnosis of narcissism has increased. As a church, we should at least be a bit concerned about this phenomenon, but there is hope.

I find good news in the fact that emotional empathy can be taught through cognitive recognition. In short, it is possible to teach people to see both the hurt and the beauty in others, to see joy, sadness, love, and kindness. After a person has learned to see in others both pain and beauty, we can teach them to lean into one by being with, helping, and supporting, and we can celebrate the other.

While I have mixed feelings about Hawaii and growing up there, I will say learning about aloha has served me well. The word Aloha means all at once hello, goodbye, and love. Likewise, the spirit of aloha is all at once love of family, love of the land, love of community, hospitality, kindness, respect, and dignity. Aloha, when used as a salutation or a goodbye, extends beyond a greeting or farewell to mean something entirely different. It is a way of emphasizing that in this relationship, we promise to see each other with respect, kindness, beauty, and empathy. This brings me back to May Day, a day to celebrate beauty and love is one way we teach empathy. It is part of the cognitive recognition process. I encourage you to celebrate beauty today and tomorrow. See it, admire it, and celebrate it. When we do this, we draw closer to one another, and in doing that, we draw closer to God. 

Peace,

Mitch