Letter from the Acting President February 2023

You've got to have something to eat, and a little love in your life
before you can hold still for any damn body's sermon on how to behave.

Billie Holiday (1915-1959)

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Dear Reader,

As we enter February, Black History Month, we “recognize the importance of Black history in the drama of the American story” (blackhistorymonth.gov). The historical perspective is certainly important, but we should also consider a more present, active perspective. In the here and now, as the American story continues to be written, how, too, is Black history unfolding?

Last month I was invited to give remarks at the Symposium on Equity, held at the University of St. Thomas and hosted by the Houston 2036 Taskforce on Equity. It was a meaningful occasion that caused me to think deeply about how the Institute’s work relates to equity, which, of course, intersects with race. This letter incorporates some of my remarks from that day, contextualized by the occasion of Black History Month.

The potential for equity is always there – right there – ready to transform the systems in which we are embedded. However, if we seek social, economic, political, and spiritual equity, we must be clear-eyed about the fact that it is not enough to promote these things. Instead, we must actively cultivate equity, constantly laboring to provide the conditions for it to emerge.

In this way, equity is a process, not a destination.

I can’t help but feel that today’s culture has a problem with “process” because we yearn for our imagined destinations so longingly. Whether our destination is health, safety, comfort, mental clarity, peace, equity, salvation, or any other thing - we usually want to arrive as soon as possible and stay there forever.

So, we drink this elixir, or we spend money on that issue, or we go on vacation, or we get a promotion… and then we expect to arrive at the destination and say to ourselves, “I’ve made it!” But those who know the grind towards equity also know that’s not how it works. It’s a process.

The spirit, too, functions this way. It is always there, yearning to bloom, but we must cultivate it by finding ever fuller ways of expressing and knowing it through our imperfect but brilliant embodied consciousness.

So, that’s my first main point – both equity and spirituality are processes, not destinations.

My second point is that the ongoing, active, creative cultivation of both equity and the human spirit complement one another. As we tend to the garden of equity, we enhance our experience and understanding of the spirit. And, as we deepen our sense of the spirit – through worship, prayer, meditation, creative expression – so too do we sow the seeds of equity. And that’s in part because equity and the spirit hinge upon relationality. They hinge upon connection.

As we experience the most technologically connected era in human history, I find myself asking why I sense a deep and widespread sense of cultural disconnection and isolation. Is it Tik Tok? The pandemic? Politics? Bad music?!?

Whatever it is, I think there’s work to be done – and that is the work of the spirit.

So, what is the “work of the spirit” anyway? As is often the case, I don’t have many answers. What I can offer is a series of questions that may be helpful as we think through these things.

These questions are what I call “outward inquiries” and “inward inquiries.” Outward inquiries happen when we look out into the world with wide eyes and an open heart, getting curious about what’s around us. Inward inquiries happen when we get quiet and honest, practicing the amazing power of reflexivity. This is our ability to step outside of the self and look back upon it, shadows and all. This may also mean stepping outside of the groups we are part of, and looking back upon them, shadows and all.

These exercises, though difficult and spiritually demanding, can help with the process of cultivating both equity and the human spirit. They can also help us make sense of the cultural moment.

I have three sets of outward and inward inquiries to offer. The first focuses on how spirituality impacts equity. The second focuses on how equity impacts spirituality. And the third focuses on fostering the full expression of diverse traditions and ways of being. These questions are for everyone.

First, as I mentioned, at a basic level, we learn something about equity by examining the human spirit. We can ask:

  • Outward Inquiry: What do the spiritual songs of the oppressed teach me about equity?

  • Inward Inquiry: What spiritual, religious, or theological assumptions do I make, and do they ever act as barriers to equity?

Second, we learn something about the human spirit by engaging in the process of cultivating equity. We can ask:

  • Outward Inquiry: What spiritual treasures are offered by those who are subject to different kinds of racial, cultural, social, and economic forces than I am?

  • Inward Inquiry: How is the fullness of the human spirit impacted by the power that I wield?

Third, equity involves the ability to build the life that all people want, without being held back by systemic obstacles or discrimination. We can ask:

  • Outward Inquiry: In what ways are my neighbors experiencing barriers to thriving?

  • Inward Inquiry: How is my spirit called to serve?

As you answer these questions, a key thing to remember is to hold our sameness and our differences in creative tension. We shouldn’t fall into the trap of taking for granted that the language of the spirit for someone who has lived a totally different life, subject to a totally different set of forces, is the same language as our own. And, at the same time, we must have faith that the connective fabric of the living spirit touches us all, regardless of tradition and condition, and that we can celebrate that towards thriving and wholeness for all people.

Warmly,
Stuart

Stuart C. Nelson, MA
Acting President

ISH Admin