Dream Haven of Vermont
  • Nature
  • Reiki
    • Reiki Certification Training
    • Reiki and Dreams
  • Retreats
    • Refuge
    • Reiki Nature Certification Retreats
  • Education and Consultations
    • Workshops
    • Support Groups
    • Emerging Leaders
    • Community Forum
  • About
    • Events
    • Mission
  • Blog

From Fortress to Gazebo: a prescription for divided America

10/2/2020

0 Comments

 
Picture
I didn’t know how she would respond. I feared the worst but couldn't let that stop me. I had labored over my last blog post, mostly pruning the many-limbed tree of my ideas  around Donald Trump as a Cult Leader. But I couldn’t publish it until I saw her in person. 

Face masks in hand, we air-hugged and started walking. A gentle breeze off the Hudson River swirled around us as we shifted from brisk walking to ambling along wooded paths. As kin, our conversation pivoted with ease: there was so much to talk about: kids, mom, our other sisters. We skirted the hot topics. 

When she called her husband about dinner logistics, I knew our time was running short. I took a breath and asked if we could change topics to something I needed to talk to her about. 

“You and I have different political views,” I start, “and you know that I have this odd passion around cult education.” 

With a quizzical nod, she says, "Yeah, so what?" 

“Well, I am about to publish an article that includes my views of Donald Trump as a cult leader and…,” I pause. I see her wince and my throat clenches. I force myself to go on. “I can’t bear the thought of losing you over this.” 

Her response brings me to tears - then and now. 

She looks at me, scrunching her smiling face and says, “Every fiber of my being wants to pounce you and give you a big hug! I will never let our differences divide us!” 

My little sister has one of the biggest hearts I know. 

A few days later, a friend helps me to see this sisterly exchange is an example of one of my core beliefs: no matter what outer conflict or dissonance may exist between people, when we step towards each other with love, doors open. 

Rather than focus on what polarizes us as individuals and as a nation, can we pause and recognize the many links of our shared humanity? 

It’s not easy to stretch across the divide.

When I sit in the comfortable, justified room of my liberal mindset, my sister’s devout Christianity can become a walled-off fortress in my mind.
But it isn’t. 


She and I are simply—and profoundly—two human beings who are courageous enough to step out of the illusionary fortress, breathe deeply in the plein air gazebo and gaze with new eyes into the importance and beauty of being alive at this very moment.

​
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Gerette Buglion

    Writer
    Reiki Teacher
    Cult Awareness Educator 

    My blog is a place where I write what is rising to the top, like cream, and wants to be shared.  Through writing, I am reclaiming a part of me that was left behind during a 18-year odyssey with a smart but destructive teacher and the high control group that developed around him. By sharing honestly, I hope to increase awareness of the prevalence of cultic dynamics both here in idyllic  VT and worldwide. For the record, I am choosing to not name the group or the group leader. I refer to the group as “CTL” and the leader as “Doug”. Additionally, I change the names of family members, friends and acquaintances near and far to honor their privacy.
    Picture

    RSS Feed

    Archives

    October 2020
    September 2020
    June 2020
    April 2020
    January 2020
    October 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    February 2019
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    February 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    September 2016
    June 2016

    Categories

    All

AIRBNB
Hyde Park, Vermont    |    802-498-8015
Website by Rebecca Elder | RTE Designs

​
Photography © Lisa Dimondstein
unless otherwise noted.
All rights reserved. 
  • Nature
  • Reiki
    • Reiki Certification Training
    • Reiki and Dreams
  • Retreats
    • Refuge
    • Reiki Nature Certification Retreats
  • Education and Consultations
    • Workshops
    • Support Groups
    • Emerging Leaders
    • Community Forum
  • About
    • Events
    • Mission
  • Blog