Judge each other by the content of our hearts

Our Brokenness

You’re clutching with both hands to this myth of “you” and “I”

Our whole brokenness is because of this

Rumi – translated and edited by Omid Safi, in the book Radical Love

I’ve often been feeling lost in anger and frustration in recent days over the racial injustice that has boiled over. Last night I stepped away from the constant stream of news and sat with the beautiful book of teaching from the Islamic mystics, Radical Love, and this poem stopped me in my tracks.

Gil Scott-Heron said “the revolution will not be televised”, yet in all 50 states of the USA and in countries all over the world, thanks to both media and phone cameras, the revolution is being televised. And yet, the revolution will still not be televised. The revolution must come in our hearts.

I truly believe in humanity and that human beings are intrinsically good. This time, and yes, particularly for white people across the world, is a time to look into our hearts, to truly recognise our biases, our prejudices, subtle and sometimes unconscious as they may be. Let each of us practice Open Leadership, modelling those qualities and:

Be Brave, Be Hungry, Be Open, Be Humble

Let us be open in these ways, then the revolution can come, as Art Acevedo, Chief of Police of Houston says in this impassioned speech, when we “judge each other by the content of our hearts”: