Last week I attended a workshop by the People's Institute  on institutional and internalized racism. The workshop was rich, emotional, and challenging. I know that I will be processing my experience for a while now. During the workshop, there was a section where we worked at defining "White Culture." This working definition described the behaviors and characteristics of "White Culture" in institution and communities...

Step into the troubled waters the angel left for you-- the trembling unknown, the unchartered depth.

In response to one of my entries earlier in the week, a dear friend of mine emailed me with the question "Have you read this book by Anthony deMello called Awareness? I love it! You should check it out." So, in light of my words about accountability and community, I walked over to the library, found a copy and surrendered to the pool of collective wisdom my community so generously offers. 

"Waking up is a significant moment for getting in touch with what we’re feeling, what we’re thinking, and how we’re doing. It’s a significant moment in which to check in. But often we don’t. The alarm goes off, we’ve got to get up, and we’ve got all these things to do. But waking up is a significant moment where it can really benefit us to take a few minutes to just to check in and gauge how we are feeling and thinking." via Waking up into the moment | Wildmind Buddhist Meditation.

What does it mean to be awake? Each morning, my alarm clock ticks off the chime of encouragement that often feels like the shocking cold of water to my sleep heavy head. The sun has begun to wake me up now that summer in the northern hemisphere is in full bloom. The gentle rays illuminate my room with a soft cheerful glow; I pull the covers up and over my head, tunneling back into the sweet darkness of dreamland. But still, when I do emerge from the womb of my bed, am I awake? The western privilege of a hot shower warms up my stiff joints, while the cold tiled floor ripples another reminder of the day through my body. A bitter steaming cup of coffee sends milligrams of caffeine in to my veins- one more attempt to stimulate my mind and body to great the day. But am I awake?

"After a year of research and preparation, the giant screen film JERUSALEM advanced into production with an unprecedented aerial shoot throughout Israel and the West Bank. Scheduled for worldwide release in 2013, the film will take audiences on a spectacular tour of the Holy Land and the city once believed to lie at the center of the world."

Today, another hero of my childhood passed on. Frank Hitijkata and his wife Rose taught me about the horrors of the Japanese internment camps and demonstrated the strength of human perserverance through the witness of their lives. During a summer trip a out west when I was 11 years old, we discovered the remnants of an internment camp by the side of the road. My parents explained to me what had happened to Japanese Americans during WW2. In the event of our return home, Frank and Rose answered my young questions and shared their story.

This year was different in many ways. While I still wear my small symbols of faith, Ash Wednesday came and went with much more anticipation and observance than last, for 2012 marks my first year working for a Catholic institution. Contrary to other years when I have almost let Ash Wednesday go unnoticed, this year, as the Interreligious Program Manager at Seattle University School of Theology and Ministry, I was prepared.