In the wake of Orlando, ‘We see things as we are’
My Muslim friend and ministerial colleague here in San Luis Obispo shared a quote from Anaïs Nin on his Facebook page a week ago: “We do not see things as they are, we see things as we are.”
The person who is full of anger will see in the news reasons to be angry. The person who is full of peace will see in current events a reason to practice peace.
On June 12, a man who was full of anger and fear and violence saw a life-affirming gathering of LGBTQ friends and allies as reason to unleash all of this anger and violence inside him.
He had chosen to be a person of anger and violence. Many people say this had something to do with his Muslim faith. I don’t believe that.
We see everything in our lives through the lens of who we choose to be. We make the choice to be a loving or hurtful person by the time we approach our spiritual or religious tradition.
I hope right now we’re choosing to be people of courage. Of determination. Of persistence. And solidarity.
The Rev. Jason Sisk-Provencio, San Luis Obispo
This story was originally published June 20, 2016 at 3:06 PM with the headline "In the wake of Orlando, ‘We see things as we are’."