Monday, October 8, 2012

Complacency

In the process of applying to Amate House, I was asked to consider what challenges this year of service might bring.  I named many things - conflict in community, difficult or unsatisfying experiences at a service site, or even struggles in practice or expression of faith.  While I have experienced each of these things in varying degrees over the past few months, I think perhaps the biggest challenge facing me now is complacency.

As may be evident from my lack of blog posts, things here are falling into a routine.  There are of course peaks and valleys - fun theme parties put on by my house, conflicts over whose responsibility it is to clean out the sink drain, angry clients criticizing my message taking abilities, and quality one-on-one meetings with my housemates - but overall things flow along smoothly without much disruption.  Don't get me wrong, routine isn't always bad.  I like that I know if I leave the house at exactly 7:45am I will make the 7:52am train  and be at work by 8:35am.  I like knowing that every Sunday morning we will have brunch together as a house, and I'll be responsible for the scrambled eggs.  I like knowing which housemate to go to when I need a hug, which one will make me laugh, and which one will listen to me vent.  But sometimes, when you're stuck in that smug complacency where you are content with everything around you, you get too comfortable and you stop paying attention.

Sometimes when you're too content, you don't notice that there's new graffiti at the L station, or that one of the regulars at Mass is missing.  You feel unfazed when person after person calls your office because they're being charged with possession of narcotics or unlawful use of a weapon or even battery of a minor.  When you are too settled in your surroundings you forget that hearing another person got shot a few blocks away is not normal or acceptable.  You forget that you are not entitled to the food you get or the house you live in - they are privileges not afforded to everyone you are surrounded by throughout the day.  Sometimes you're caught in contented peace and forget that you once believed in something more or something better for this world.

So now, the challenge lies before me - to open my eyes and really see what is happening, to be outraged by the violence, to be an instigator of change, to be a speaker of truth and a channel of peace, to not be content with the status quo but committed to a better future.

Here's to shattered complacency in the face of injustice.

No comments:

Post a Comment