By Phoebe Farag Mikhail

Wars and proxy wars. Impeachment and presidential debates. I wonder, sometimes, what I will say when my grandchildren (God willing) ask me what I was doing during these world-changing, historic events. In fact, that thought came to me the morning I checked my Twitter feed and noted that the House was voting on impeachment of the President that day. Part of me considered tuning into C-SPAN or the radio and watch, but then I looked at what I was working on and decided to focus on that instead. I’d find out the outcome in a few hours, and it would not be affected by me watching it unfold.

At that moment, I was preparing this inspiring blog post for publication, written by my friend Nardeen Mickail Loka about her spiritual mentor, Tasoni Angel, who had recently reposed in the Lord. By sharing this shining example, I knew I was doing more good for the world than sharing my opinions about the impeachment. The story of a woman devoting her life to God and service to others is better shared.

I did the same right around the time I learned about the assassination of the Iranian army general. As the world stage tensed and news of wars and proxy wars loomed, I checked on friends and relatives in the Middle East who could be affected, and went right back to work, ignoring further news of doom and gloom, after saying a prayer for the peace of the world.

It sounds a bit like I’m burying my head in the sand. Some might accuse me of being “privileged” that I am capable of ignoring troubling news because it doesn’t affect me. They would be wrong. Anything that happens in the Middle East, for example, has a direct affect on friends and relatives there, as well as on many families in my community. The same goes for many other policies being discussed and changed in government. When there is an opportunity to be active or influence, I do take action – I’ll make the phone call, write the letters, and encourage others to do the same.

But I won’t buy into the debate and constant outrage anymore. As I write in the “Joy Thieves” chapter of my book, Putting Joy into Practice, that is not a recipe for changing the world. It’s a ready-made sandwich for feeding the joy-stealing passion of pride. Let’s face it—much of our “political hobbyism” comes from pride—this idea that following the news, sharing our informed, or more often than not, or less-informed opinions on the internet, and then feeling a sense of accomplishment at having “done” something is all pride. Unless we are in an actual position of influence, or are actively working within, leading, or starting an organized movement, all our political hobbyism is idle talk at best, and lots of pride and anger for us at worst. On top of that, it feeds into the generalized pride and anger that has turned our social media and even real-life social spaces combative and hostile. [For more on “political hobbyism,” read Eitan Hersh’s article in The Atlantic here, or his book, Politics is for Power, here.]

A few years ago at an author event in New York City, I was inspired by Sophfronia Scott’s words after her presentation on her and her son’s book, This Child of Faith. Her son Tain had survived the horrific shooting at Sandy Hook elementary, and she was asked by the audience if she was leading the gun control advocacy that organized after it happened. She answered no, she is not actively involved, because (I am paraphrasing) “There are people who do this much better than I do. I am choosing to focus on what I can do well while supporting those who are leading.” Later, on one of her “Morning Walks with Sophfronia” videos when all the troubling news about wars and impeachments were coming out, she quoted these words from Toni Morrison:

“This is precisely the time when artists go to work. There is no time for despair, no place for self-pity, no need for silence, no room for fear. We speak, we write, we do language. That is how civilizations heal.”

Toni Morrison, “No Place for Self-Pity, No Room for Fear.” The Nation, March 23, 2015
https://www.thenation.com/article/no-place-self-pity-no-room-fear/

I’ve taken these words to heart and doubled down on my own creative work. When I decide to get involved, I get involved in direct, meaningful ways that are the opposite of political hobbyism—community involvement, donations to causes I believe in, and, most importantly, as Mother Theresa famously said, “If you want to change the world, go home and love your family.”

I’ve also doubled down on prayer. “Thoughts and prayers” have gotten a bad reputation because of their misuse by people who actually are in positions of influence and can make change, but instead choose to hide behind what sound like innocuous words. Yet true prayer is far from innocuous. Prayer is the first step of real action.

If you believe in prayer, as I do, and if you believe that prayer is not just about petitioning God but about relationship and communion with Him, then we would be foolish not to begin by connecting with the Life-Giver about our concern for people’s lives, to the Just Judge when crying out about injustice, to the Lover of Mankind when distraught about the hatred amongst mankind.

Prayer replaces our anger and agitation with clear-headedness and resolve. It helps us to approach any activism we undertake from a place of love. It inspires us, in fact, to love our enemies. It helps us recognize when we ourselves might be contributing, directly or indirectly, to the problem.

As we begin another contentious general election year in the United States, it is now, more than ever, that we should ask God to “Set a guard, O Lord,” over our mouths, to “keep watch over the door of” our  lips (Psalm 141:3 NKJV). Let’s not succumb to the noise and the outrage that most often leads to paralysis, not power; to childishness, not change. Let us love our families, our neighbors, our communities. Let us do our own work, whatever it is, and do it well. Let us pray and remember that we are all connected to a God who sees.

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On November 17, 2020, I will be leading an online retreat though Paraclete Press called “Giving Thanks in Troubled Times.” A week after the US election day, and it will be very relevant. To sign up, click here. To sign up a group of five or more participants at a lower rate, email Sister Estelle Cole at srestelle@paracletepress.com.

For more information about Putting Joy Into Practice, click here.

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