Why do I forget You, abandon You?
You who are wholeness,
You who are home, always now, always present,
giving what every cell in me yearns for--
to collapse into Your warm breath of Life;
defenses drop, naked I be,
cherished solely for my nakedness,
my void, my forgetfulness.
Silence pregnant with all sounds,
I come back, prodigal that I am--
bruised, tired, wired,
To be undone again by Your embrace.
Only when I am reconciled with myself can I think about reconciling other people around me, who are at odds with me or with others. Reconciliation means peacemaking, clearing the way for the different parties, building a bridge between quarreling groups. But it does not mean smoothing everything over, making everything harmonious. Different points of view must remain. Reconciliation means taking the other person or group seriously, and also taking myself and my needs seriously.