Posted on: Friday, March 5, 2004

ISLAND VOICE
Social justice must be spiritual

By Laura Crites

They both belonged to a race that had every reason to hate. Instead they both chose love and forgiveness.

In its recent Martin Luther King Jr. memorial service, Honolulu's Church of the Crossroads honored the memory of both Dr. King and Hawai'i's last monarch, Queen Lili'uokalani.

The example of their lives and their choice of love over hatred during a time of great challenge and conflict make them role models for us all.

After a time of great challenge for me, I came to understand how they could make that choice. I also developed a deep awareness of the need for social justice movements to be grounded in spirituality — in the messages of compassion, love and forgiveness. (Spirituality, here, should not be confused with "religion.")

That doesn't weaken the movement, but, rather, provides daily strength to members on the front lines. One need only look to Dr. King, Gandhi, Lili'u- okalani and Nelson Mandela to know this is true.

My time of challenge resulted from years of intense involvement in the women's and domestic violence movements. While these years were in many ways deeply rewarding, they also left many of us wounded.

Without a spiritual grounding, anger and despair over the treatment of women turned into hatred and fear. Too often, the destructive power of these emotions were turned on others who offered another voice, perspective, or perhaps spoke of compassion and forgiveness. Too often we became mirrors of that which we hated.

While we made huge strides in advancing equal rights and safety for women, we missed an opportunity to do that important work in a way that uplifted us all. Instead the personal cost went beyond burnout — it was soul starvation.

A six-weeks sabbatical in Europe allowed me the space and time to heal. It led me to a deep understanding of what was missing in the work I had been doing — a spiritual grounding.

Social justice movements are critically important. My deepest prayer is that their leaders will set aside the punishing perspectives of right and wrong, victim and perpetrator, good and evil.

These are the movements that will truly transform the earth.