We can start with a list. • Podemos empezar con una lista.
by Doris Garcia Rivera, Interim Executive Director
January 2021
Several years ago, I started an end-of-year personal ritual of listing the significant things that brought me joy and growth as well as pain and loss – the smaller details of life that became meaningful for me during the previous year. Creating these lists has helped me acknowledge aches, find resolution and learn life lessons to enter the new year with hope, strength and gratitude.
My list for 2020 was longer than expected, so I share with you only some items (in no particular order) that deeply marked my life with both pain and esperanza– for there is no picture drawn without shadows. As 2020 was a particularly challenging year, and 2021 is already crying out for our witness for peace with justice, I share this with you as an encouragement to think about your own list; a practice to ground us in our current realities and renew us for our work ahead, together.
My work with BPFNA renewing my faith in peacemakers.
The presence of my family and friends during the loss of a significant relationship.
Feelings of disconnect, distraction, depression and sadness during times of lockdown.
Discovering the enjoyment of the sea, the breeze and the sound of the waves – learning to accept my solitude.
The rediscovery of meditation apps!
Multiple readings on racism and white privilege to try to understand these dynamics of power and oppression.
Our first online Summer Conference!
Oh, the joy and fatigue of Zoom!
Concern and prayer for COVID-19 affected families, for the dramatic loss of human life worldwide, and the impact it had on millions left homeless or without jobs, health, companions.
Prayers for those supporting COVID-19 affected families while keeping society going in the midst of this pandemic! So many in so many spaces – health workers, counselors, religious caretakers, agricultural workers, transport & food service workers, mail carriers, educators, those servicing others in need of food and shelter, janitors and waste collectors, and so many others!
Seeing through my window by day – the rising of the sun, the blue of the sky, the white and gray of the clouds; and by night – the stars, the moon, the shooting stars.
Hearing the sounds of the coquí (small tree frog), the “Ruiseñor” (Mockingbird), the “Pitirre” (Gray kingbird), the parrots, the roosters and sometimes, yes, even the crows!
The joy of a warm shower! (after hurricane Maria and months without water, I learned to treasure water and the whole water system in place!)
The countless sleepless anxious nights.
Being able to articulate my words and thoughts and dancing alone to the tune of my favorite song.
Learning new things – like being able to fix a bad haircut myself!
Being able to forgive those who hurt me, and learning to forgive myself.
Feeling right by strengthening the links with other organizations to fight alongside Black Lives Matter to seek peace with justice.
Being able to support our partners in offering trainings for democracy defense.
Learning to eat healthier.
Uncovering God!
Feeling grateful to be alive!
It’s true that life in 2020 became unexpectedly intense with abnormally high doses of frustration, confusion and anxiety. Peace, democracy and the wellbeing of millions became endangered. And yet, when we put everything on the table with the simple, everyday things people do for others; the little joys our family and loved ones bring, in one way or another, hope was uplifted, possibilities were expanded and light was brought into the darkness.
2021 has come like every other new year, with unwritten empty pages and with the continuity of certain challenges. It is up to us to write the stories, the narratives that will make a difference. We can start with a list.
I pray that BPFNA-Bautistas por la Paz is on your list as a companion on your path for the year ahead. We are deeply grateful for peacemakers like you and hopeful for all the possibilities still to come.
