Sri Lanka: A Moment of Silence for the World

I have immense privilege as a white, heterosexual, cis-gender, able-bodied person living in the United States. I can spend my time thinking about cheese boards or my upcoming vacation. I’m processing through the shame I feel about how I get to live my life to its fullest while others can’t even worship without the threat of losing their families in explosions, like what happened in Sri Lanka on Easter Sunday.

It’s too easy to numb ourselves to the terror and violence that erupted in Sri Lanka. Terror and violence are proliferating around the world and in our own country. I try to hold front and center Martin Luther King’s idea of our interconnectedness:

“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.”

—Martin Luther King, Jr.

In Sri Lanka, a pastor unintentionally invited a bomber into his church. He did this because the people at his church “always give a warm welcome to everyone.” I am heartbroken by the idea that the pastor was living exactly in a way that should make the world better. However, it led to death and devastation.

What can we do to stop Sri Lanka from happening?

I don’t know how to stop the violence and terror that are proliferating around the world. I do know that I need to do more to acknowledge it and understand it, not turn my attention away from it while I enjoy my own life. My blog can be a platform for these conversations, but I can also be more intentional on social media.

I can also continue to invest in people’s ability to live their best lives in other countries around the world. I do this through Kiva.org. Kiva is an amazing way to maximize the impact of your donations because they are loans. As your money comes back to you through loan repayment, you can use the money to invest in the next person. I believe that peace starts with individuals being able to provide for themselves and their families.

My career is also connected to building a better world for all through education, particularly Montessori. Montessori is “education for peace” for so many reasons. Right now, most of my attention goes into how to fully implement Montessori in a way that ensures equitable outcomes for all children in the United States. Over time, I hope to have more capacity in my free time to help Montessori schools proliferate internationally.

There’s a lot to keep thinking about. Please let me know if you have additional ideas about how I can help!