On the Minister’s Mind
by Rev. Laine Morgan
November 9th is known as World Freedom Day, established to commemorate the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. On that day so many years ago, officials declared that the borders were suddenly open between East and West Germany. That day people crowded along the wall and passed freely without resistance, without fear of being arrested or killed for trying to get to the other side. Immediately individuals in the crowd began to dismantle the wall, destroying the symbol of oppression that had stood for nearly 30 years.
In my collection of life treasures, I have a piece of that wall that fell. A friend of mine had traveled to Germany at that same time and began collecting small pieces of the wall that were scattered on the street to give to others back at home. She knew that it was a moment in history worth remembering. My little piece has a bit of graffiti on it, likely painted by someone yearning for the freedom we now commemorate each year.
I cherish my little piece of the wall because it reminds me that the walls that keep us from being free are only dismantled when minds and hearts are changed and people grow tired of separation and division. It symbolizes the truth that, even in the darkest realities, hope springs eternal and eventually freedom and love win. Unity cannot be denied forever, and when it becomes possible again, a celebration breaks out, and all barriers become permeable.
Our higher selves are inviting us to look around at the walls we live with every day. Some are beyond our control- like structures and borders and decisions made by others in power. Yet others are personal and maintained by us as individuals as we think and believe things that create our sense of separation.
Many of us are surrounded by walls right now, walls that we built within ourselves. They may not be made of brick and mortar, but they are real, and they stand between us and those with whom we disagree. They have been constructed with fear and judgement, and the graffiti we paint on them are decorations depicting how those on the other side are wrong, serving as reminders of the justifications for how we feel.
As Ronald Reagan so famously said – “Tear down this wall!” If you have the personal power to tear down a wall that keeps you feeling less than free, begin dismantling it piece by piece, conversation by conversation, prayer by prayer, acts of kindness and unity. And if there is a wall constructed beyond your control, chip holes in it and throw good things over the wall as often as you can. Remember that, just like in Germany so long ago, the people on the other side of the wall are living their lives the best they can, and their souls long for harmony and connection as much as yours does.
In his book All Will Be Well, Michael Meegan wrote – “If we are ready to tear down the walls that confine us, break the cage that imprisons us, we will discover what our wings are for.”
Wings are for freedom and freedom gives us the space to love. Let’s work together to create more of that space!