Why Finding Caring People Is Important In Troubled Political Times

Santa Barbara is a place where people nod and say hello to strangers passing in the street.

Whenever I give a talk on a spiritual theme, I always try to offer meaningful takeaways for those who come to listen. I’m not sure how well I succeed! One thing is for certain. I’m usually the one who ends up being uplifted by the extraordinary people I meet wherever I travel. That was the case this past week in Santa Barbara.

I had been invited to present at the Fall 10-week interfaith Word & Life speaker series. Word & Life has existed for 42 years and meets on Thursdays at the vibrant First Presbyterian Church of Santa Barbara. The group had selected my latest book “How To Live: What The Rule of St. Benedict Teaches Us About Happiness, Meaning and Community” for discussion.

First Presbyterian Church of Santa Barbara, where the Word & Life series takes place.

I arrived in California anxious and depressed over the current political environment. That, of course, is not a new feeling. Still, this past week was especially disturbing. Our country virtually abandoned the Kurds who had fought courageously alongside American troops to help deter the spread of terrorism.

Then there was the particularly hateful political rhetoric. Especially chilling was a rally in Minnesota at which the President of the United States mocked others, tossed around debunked accusations, used profanity, disparaged a group of legal refugees, and accused those who challenge him of “hating America.”

He did all this standing in front of rows of young people. No matter what one’s politics, what kind of example does this set? Where is statesmanship? Where is grace under pressure? Where is any kind of profile in courage?

Which is why it was so refreshing to encounter a group of such concerned and engaged citizens. My guess is that most of the folks I encountered in Santa Barbara live comfortable, though not extravagant lives. I met educators, business people, retirees, a musicologist, a healing touch practitioner, the owner of an auto repair shop, even the city’s former poet laureate.

It was clear from our conversations that each cares deeply about righting inequalities in the criminal justice system. About working to ease Santa Barbara’s growing homeless problem. About preserving the dignity and well-being of people seeking asylum at our border.

Just as importantly, these are people who understand that nourishing the mind and spirit is far more important than fattening one’s pocketbook.

Word & Life member Christine Milne displays the posters she uses as sun visors in her car.

Before I stepped to the podium to speak, Christine Milne, one of the Word & Life regulars, guided us in a lovely a cappella meditation on the lines from Psalm 46, “Be still and know that I am God.”

The theme of my talk was “Being Truly Alive: On Waking Up.” When I finished, musicologist Tom Heck told the group my words reminded him of the song, “What A Wonderful World.” Sing it, Tom! people in the audience urged. And Tom led us in a spontaneous rendition of the song. It was a beautiful moment of communion.

There wasn’t a stranger I passed in the street who didn’t say hello or good morning. One of the group’s members, Michael Dean, drove a three hour round trip to pick me up at the Burbank airport and bring me to Santa Barbara so I could be on a non-stop flight.

The Old Mission Church, which dates from the 19th century, founded by Franciscan friars.

When I attended morning Mass at the city’s Old Mission Church, pastor Dan Lackie, a Franciscan friar, made a point of asking if there were any visitors present. He had each of us introduce ourselves and we were warmly greeted on the way out by just about everyone else in the church.

Back home, when I spoke of my Santa Barbara experience with a friend, she promptly reminded me that there are caring people all across our great nation. And that’s what we need to remember and grasp onto in these troubled times.

I’d like to leave you with some lines from a poem called “ Sometimes A Life” by Perie Longo, a member of the Word & Life group and Santa Barbara’s poet laureate from 2007 to 2009. Words to ponder in the coming week:

… Sometimes a love is too grand to fit on a page.

It needs a country to contain its edges and alleys,

not an open woods filled with bears and high peaks.

Let us be dark for a while. Sometimes you need

a whole night to weep. After all, the moon is full

and the world once too large to fit on this page

has become terribly small.