***** A (Muslim) Facebook Sister: "I wanted to learn from you, how do you manage sitting there day after day, (on Capitol Hill or the White House to Free Palestine) this is what I wanted to know." My reply: "Sister, (you know the following better than I, but still, it is my answer). Your question brings to mind, among other things, a brief passage from Dr. King's Autobiography.... (details)

A (Muslim) Facebook Sister:  "I wanted to learn from you, how do you manage sitting there day after day, (on Capitol Hill or the White House to Free Palestine) this is what I wanted to know."   My reply:  "Sister,  (you know the following better than I, but still, it is my answer).  Your question brings to mind, among other things, a brief passage from Dr. King's Autobiography I was listening to yesterday as I returned from being on Capitol Hill all day.  He was mentioning what is central to my life now, these last 13 years or so, and to my answer to your question.  He said something like, 'I believe, and I believed, that what self-centered men can impose, other-centered men can throw off.'  Now when I heard this I thought two things, 1. Dr. King, who I adore, and revere, no sir, you are wrong.  It is too little, to late. The evil people, the self-centered people are going to 'win' by destroying everything and everyone that is decent, and then themselves.  But 2. I thought, yes sir, you've just described the only two ways we humans can Be, self-centered  or other-centered.  Dr. King may be wrong, I may be wrong, but my answer to you sister is, I have chosen to pay any and every personal price to keep the world's most suffering people at the very 'center' of my being, every breath. I make it my top priority to notice when my attention is drifting elswhere and through meditation, prayer, focus... I re-direct my full attention to the world's neediest, the Palestinians.  That's it. The rest is our Creator-given nervious system design doing what it does when it deeply 'sees' others suffering.  When the center of our being is the suffering of others, it mobilizes us to respond. - empathy does that.  And it harnesses the head to figure the best moment by moment response to best help, to best serve.  For me, with my skills, abilities, talents, location, language and LIMITATIONS... it is, when my body allows, and weather allows, to do my online study, advocacy, writing... out in DC with posters people have helped me purchase that advocate for Palestine.  I'm desperate to know how to do more, but so far, this is the best I can see.  And also, I think by your question you are deliberately showing me kind encouragement, and I appreciate that. (hugs)"