When human connection occurs in safety it allows for a valuing of vulnerability rather than its banishing. Such experiences are rare in a world shaped by the ego and all its defences. But when a work is informed by the heart and a humility of spirit then such experiences flourish. These were my thoughts as I made my way home through Soho on this damp cold early November evening. In the heart of Soho, I just had such an experience.
Some weeks earlier, I had been invited to talk to a group of men about a challenging issue associated with vulnerability. I had just ten minutes to inspire and open up the discussion. Yes, my words were appreciated but what made the evening immensely inspirational for me was the safety and containment provided by the convenor. He was firm, direct, demanding of self -responsibility and respect of each other, things that often a ‘comfort zone’ driven emphasis or a ‘chronically nice’ environment tends to avoid. What followed was an experience of shared concern and shared great valuing one to another.
The experience reminded me of Mike Ford’s ‘The Flowers of Soho’ which appeared in the journal ‘Spirituality’ shortly after the Soho bombing in 1999. It powerfully resonated with me at the time. I have always regarded Soho as my spiritual home and a more sacred place, in the true meaning of the word, than temples or cathedrals. Mike got it too and generously conveyed it in his article when he wrote;
“Soho is a place where light can shine in the darkness, where creativity can blossom in a sea of ‘craziness’. The district may have its pornographic boutiques, it’s garish advertisement. Its smell of death, but it is also an oasis of life in a desert of loneliness, where alienated people sometimes succeed in finding new friends and forming community, where strangers can meet over a meal in one of the many restaurants and (referring to the bombing) where women and men now gather in solidarity in the aftermath of violent prejudice. As one card put by a wreath put it ‘you won’t kill love’.”
Such solidarity, concerning another manifestation of human vulnerability, was again being experienced within a gathering in the heart of Soho this evening. It was indeed a testament to whoever wrote those words that tragic time ago ‘you won’t kill love’.
Mike finished the same article with a quote from Henri J M. Nouwen. For me this quote expresses all that I constantly experience about this dreadful but beautiful place and particularly experienced this November evening;
“We are not alone; beyond the differences that separate us, we share one common humanity and thus, belong to each other. The mystery of life is that we discover this human togetherness not when we are powerful and strong, but when we are vulnerable and weak”.
For all of this experience, I am grateful.
Br Stephen Morris fcc
