What stream are you standing in?
Reflections on waterways, lineage, and the call to active participation in the healing of the world (Journal prompts inside)
New contours of your inner and outer life are defined by new questions.
A new question has been following me around for a few weeks now. The question is:
What stream are you standing in?
When I think of streams, the first place my mind goes is to a memory of the small creek set back many acres from one of my childhood homes. My younger brother and I would make our way out the back door, across the back lawn, through the back patch of woods, down a massive hill, and across a spacious clearing to make our way to this creek. As I remember it now, I wonder if the yard, woods, hills, and clearing were actually as large as they seem to me now. As children, the world seems so grand, so for the purposes of this story, it was. Our trek to this creek was a grand adventure, especially in summer time.
We would take off our shoes and socks and roll up our jeans as we walked along the waterway. We’d remind ourselves and one another to keep an eye out for the moccasin snakes Daddy always warned us about. We’d try our hands at skipping rocks and we’d find smooth stones to take home. It was a kind of freedom I didn’t know to revel in at the time.
Streams and creeks are all connected to some larger body of water, and they flow from some place at a higher altitude. So whether you’re standing in a creek, or a stream, or a river, you’re actually experiencing the waters of some other, more distant place. Yes, you have your present moment, bare feet, on the earth, wet with the water of the present moment, but those waters came from some place, and those waters are on their way to some place else.
We are all standing in streams from some place else.
We’re standing in the streams of our parents’ lives, stories, and choices.
We’re standing in the streams of the social and cultural values of the communities who raised us.
We’re standing in the streams (and news feeds) of the media we give our attention to, attention being “the beginning of devotion.”1
We’re standing the streams of whatever legacies we choose to claim for our selves, perhaps legacies of activism and social advocacy. Perhaps legacies of religious fervor or spiritual practice. Perhaps legacies of hardwork and family. Perhaps legacies of social isolation, bigotry, or harm.
What stream are you standing in?
When you look at the values pouring into and out of your life, good or not-so-good, where do they come from?
This question became important to me as I ventured into curating this newsletter and content hub because one of the myths I’m resisting in my work is the lie of self-sufficiency, or the myth of the “self-made person.” I don’t believe any of us are self-made, and every creative venture we set our efforts toward is actually the culmination of lived experiences, places, and stories we’ve lived alongside others.
When I think of the streams this particular project stands in, many come to mind: there’s the stream of my family lineage as Black folks who descended from enslaved folks and who’ve made lives and raised families between Georgia, Florida, North Carolina, Virginia, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. This is one of my streams.
I also think of the stream of my faith tradition, especially the contemplative and activism arms. My most meaningful engagements with the Christian tradition have flowed from lessons learned alongside those who’ve been socially, politically, and economically disenfranchised throughout history. There is a rich tradition of mindful, place-based, community-driven advocacy in the Christian faith, and I honor this stream’s influence on my life and in the world.
We must take time to acknowledge the streams we are standing in because they remind us of not only where we’ve coming from, but of what our present responsibility is to the places in which we find ourselves.
I wish I could say my brother and I spent our summer afternoons picking up trash along the creekside, participating as stewards and ensuring clean and clear water for those who were certain to be a bit further down stream. As an adult now, when it comes to the literal waterways near my home, and the more metaphorical streams of my life, I must accept responsibility to steward my places well.
If the stream has been poisoned by resentment over political identities or by hatred and fear of the social other, then how might you and I heal and restore these waters?
If the stream has been polluted by lying, dysfunction, and rampant distrust, how might we tend and care for these waters?
The times we are living in require responsibility. They require a collective commitment to being more than passive observers or unhelpful detractors. These times require we step in our vocation as stewards. We must participate. We must create. We are the clean up crew. No one is coming to save us. We are the helpers. We are the ones who clean the waterways of today to ensure healthy and strong waterways for future generations.
What streams are you standing in?
How are you participating in the healing and restoration of the places you’re in?
Many years ago, I was sitting in a room with a group of friends. We were in our very early-20s, mostly recent college grads. We were talking about life purpose and vocation, as young folks do. One of my friends began expressing her distress at just not knowing what was next. She wanted to make a huge impact in the world but was filled with doubt about her next steps. As she expressed her concern, another friend interjected and said, “Hey, at best you’re just a puzzle piece.”
We laughed a bit, but listened further as he explained that while we are important and while our choices do matter, we are not ultimately responsible for fixing, healing, and changing everything. Yes, we have a part to play. But it’s just a part. At best, we’re all just individual puzzle pieces in this grander story.
As you make space to consider the streams of your life, and as you answer the call to take responsibility and to be a steward, be encouraged that while you are tending to your portion of the stream, there is also some one further up stream and further down stream, also doing their part.
It’s not all on you, and, some of it is.
So what is your work to do?
Keep reading to capture journal prompts for further reflection below.
Much love,
Bethaney
Journaling Prompts for Further Engagement
What is your lineage? Yes, in terms of your family. But also in terms of your religious identity, political identity, and/or cultural identity?
What gifts do you celebrate from within your lineage? What shortcomings do you lament from within your lineage?
How are you stewarding your lineage to care for future generations?
How are you participating in the healing and restoration of your self, your local community, and by extension, the world?
Mary Oliver