Forgiveness

Wisdom on Forgiveness

I’ve had mixed feelings about the gorilla and the mom. How could she let her child escape from her sight? Did she deserve forgiveness? Was it even her fault?

Margaret Anderson is a trainer, author, and consultant. Her website is persuasion coach.

She often comments on my posts. I usually benefit from insight on her weekly blog.

And that was certainly the case yesterday when I read “Do You Believe in Mistakes?”

Margaret offered her readers a letter from Rev. Meg Riley, whom she calls, “one of my ministers.”

Meg is senior minister at the Church of the Larger Fellowship (CLF). Its mission: “Keeping the flame of Unitarian Universalism burning bright for all who yearn for its warmth and light.”

I assume Meg’s letter was to all 3600 members of CLF. Given that she is a minister with a mission to keep the flame “burning bright,” I feel sure she would be happy to have her words reach even further!

Her message is about forgiveness. She touched a chord with me.

Forgiveness isn’t Easy

When I heard about the gorilla being shot, my first reaction was the same as my sister Beth’s.

Beth lives in Cincinnati so has been bombarded with the news. She was critical of the mom. Maybe she’ll soften her stance when reading Meg’s letter about forgiveness!

What about you?

CLF and Unitarian-Universalists

I’ve known about the Church of the Larger Fellowship since my days on the board of the Unitarian Universalist Women’s Federation, UUWF, ten to fifteen years ago. CLF had their office – actually just a desk or two – nearby in the headquarters of the Unitarian Universalist Association.

Today the UUA is in a new building. I hope that CLF and UUWF are there too, in the new site.

Local Authors at Book Event

The Westport Library and Fairfield County Writers’ Studio joined forces to present a fun, lively event on Wednesday evening. They were celebrating a new book by Tess McGovern, co-founder of Fairfield County Writers Studio with my friend Carol Dannhauser.

They invited several local authors to display and sell their books. I was one!

They were also celebrating the start of the Westport Library’s Summer Reading Program.

I signed up for the program. Will I read more books this summer because of it? We’ll see!

My latest reads are Rebecca Solnit’s A Field Guide to Getting Lost, and A Cancer in the Family by Theodora Ross.

Solnit’s book was recommended by Anya in my writing class. She believes it may help me as I try to combine journalistic recounting of Nigerian customs with tales of family.

I’m reading Ross’s book because she asked me to review it. The author was interviewed on NPR in March.

What are you reading?

Buhari Cancels Visit to Delta

Nigeria’s President Buhari had announced a visit to the Delta region. But he canceled his trip at the last minute and sent his vice-president instead.

The government is announcing plans for badly needed cleanup of the area which has been under severe stress for decades.

Major oil companies and the government are blamed by Delta residents for ignoring their problems.

Now a group called Niger Delta Avengers is attacking pipelines and facilities. Their goal is to stop all production.

I don’t understand how this is supposed to help, but I’m not suffering from years of destruction to my farmland and economy as they say they are.

They’ve said about the most recent act, “This is in line with our promise to all international oil companies and indigenous oil companies that Nigeria oil production will be zero.”

Let me know if you understand their rationale.

Nigeria Revisited Book Review

Local blogger and editor of the electronic publication Bewildering Stories Alison McBain has just posted a review of my memoir Nigeria Revisited My Life and Loves Abroad.

She said, “The best passages of the book reflect her identity, with dialogue and humor and insight into the events taking place around her and inside her own life.”

I love her comments, and agree with her thoughts.

There are spoilers, so if you haven’t yet read the memoir, you may want to grab a copy before you read Alison’s review.