Courage

My beloved Soul Shelter friends,

How are you today? I think of you often and have so many post drafts that I keep adding to (which then don’t get sent because I keep thinking of more I want to say…), but this one made it through (!). It takes courage to walk where you are walking. To even stand. I recognize and applaud your ongoing courage.

It takes guts to speak truth to power. It can be very costly. I get how intimidating that can be.

There is also a cost to staying silent. Your body, mind and heart will be the ones to pay it.

If you are repeatedly being belittled, gaslit and otherwise taken down by someone who ought to love and care for you, that ought not be so. You deserve love and kindness. Please tell someone. And if that person doesn't listen, keep going till you find someone who will. Don't give up till you find safety. Your voice matters and needs to be heard, because *you* matter.

I'm sharing Ringo the Wish Fish with you because it reflects the steady resolve of Jimmy Lai, an advocate for democracy and a powerful critic of Beijing, currently on trial in Hong Kong. Talk about speaking truth to power! To journalists in Hong Kong in April of 2021, he said, “It is time for us to stand with our heads held high.” That's what he is still doing now, and that is my wish for us all today, especially you, my Soul Shelter friends. Jimmy is also a man of faith, which undergirds his convictions about justice and freedom. He inspires me, and perhaps you can draw strength from his story too.

“Ringo” (means “apple” in Japanese) was originally created on June 17, 2021 following the arrests of 5 editors and executives of Apple Daily, and as Hong Kong’s free press evaporated under the national security law. Jimmy Lai, the newspaper's founder, had been arrested the year before. Apple Daily ceased publication on June 24, 2021. Ringo takes its colors from the Apple Daily logo.

More about Jimmy Lai: https://on.wsj.com/3vx2YV2