We are swimming in an ocean of chaos and only by creating islands of sanity will we be saved from drowning, says poet Maya Spector. Author and meditation teacher Dr Noel Keating* reflects on her poem Creating Islands of Sanity, in this edited extract from an online talk he recently gave to Benedict’s Well, an outreach of the World Community for Christian Meditation*.
Creating Islands of Sanity, by Maya Spector
Yes, we are swimming
in an ocean of chaos.
Who or what can save us
from drowning?
Only we can.
Wise ones have counselled us -
when we find ourselves in dark times,
create islands of sanity. …
The islands of sanity which we are
charged to bring to light could be …
sanctuaries, refuges, firm ground
on which to set our feet -
where we can hold one another's hands,
where we will not drown,
where we might plant something new,
where we can allow our tender hearts
some respite.
And in our tender hearts
is where we must begin,
to look for and abide in
our very own islands of sanity.
They are a given,
unquestioningly present,
born with us,
and the proper place
to begin, heading out
to find and to create
islands of sanity
in our wounded world.
from https://mspector.substack.com/p/creating-islands-of-sanity
Maya Spector’s poem addresses the concept of ‘Islands of Sanity’, a concept that is central to the work of American author and management consultant Margaret J. Wheatley. Both writers acknowledge that we are swimming in an ocean of chaos and that it is we who must rescue ourselves; but they challenge the modern instinct to find a fix for the entire ocean of chaos, suggesting instead that we focus on creating islands of sanity where we can stand.
While the word ‘sanity’ is often defined with clinical precision, pointing to an absence of mental illness, these two writers see it as something closer to common sense, as openness, generosity, creativity, and kindness. Spector sees islands of sanity as places where we can hold one another's hands, where we will not drown, where we might plant something new, where we can allow our tender hearts some respite. Islands where we can develop the ability to remain human when the systems around us are becoming ever more inhumane.
A daily meditation practice teaches us the folly of an image of God as a cosmic magician who will make everything work out despite our actions. It awakens us to our responsibility to take personal responsibility in the first instance by taking care of ourselves and then reaching out to one another to create a safe communal space – an island of sanity.
The ‘island’ metaphor is important because it does not deny the chaos in which we find ourselves, instead acknowledging it as the ‘sea’ and suggesting that we can do something about it by creating islands of sanity. And isn’t this what our community of meditators does? Our meditation groups – both in-person and online – and occasional contemplative retreats, are such islands. Spector seems to acknowledge this when she writes: And in our tender hearts is where we must begin, to look for and abide in our very own islands of sanity.
As contemplatives we do not retreat into ourselves, but we come together in small islands of sanity, where we aim to leave the chaos of the world behind us for a time in order to allow ourselves to be changed by a graced encounter with the source of all life. Author and Franciscan priest Richard Rohr reminds us that:
We have to allow ourselves to be drawn into sacred space, into liminality. All transformation takes place there. We have to move out of “business as usual” and remain on the “threshold” (limen, in Latin) where we are betwixt and between. There, the old world is left behind, but we’re not sure of the new one yet. That’s a good space. Get there often and stay as long as you can by whatever means possible. It’s the realm where God can best get at us because we are out of the way. In sacred space the old world is able to fall apart, and the new world is able to be revealed. If we don’t find liminal space in our lives, we start idolizing normalcy. We end up believing it’s the only reality, and our lives shrivel.
Every time we enter the inner room of the heart, we find it is not an isolated space but a communal one which is open to all who develop the habit of simply being in stillness and silence. Our practice draws us from contemplative solitude into contemplative community. Author Brian McLaren observes that when we gather in meditation groups like ours
We find ourselves joined by another presence - the presence of Christ, the way, the truth, and the life. We listen to one another with compassion and curiosity. We speak to one another with wisdom and wonder. We turn together toward the light. And that helps us create islands of sanity in a world that is losing its mind.
WCCM’s opening prayer ‘Heavenly Father, open our hearts …’ acknowledges that – we don’t say ‘my’ heart but ‘our’ hearts, recognising our interconnectedness in the depths of our being. Our hearts are the proper place to begin, if we are to find and to create islands of sanity in our wounded world. May our meditation practice help us to develop a growing fidelity to the inner imperative of our awakened hearts to create islands of sanity where we live today.
*Dr Keating has spent forty years in the education sector in Ireland, as a teacher, principal and education officer. He is author of ‘Meditation with Children – A Resource for Teachers and Parents’ (Medio Media) and voluntary coordinator of the Meditation with Children Project, which involves over 40,000 children, who meditate several times each week on a whole-school basis, across more than 200 primary schools throughout Ireland. He also leads weekly online meditation groups, and can be contacted at mnkeating@gmail.com
*His article is an edited extract from a talk given at Benedict’s Well, an outreach of the Benedictine Oblates of the WCCM. The weekly event (Mondays) consists of a period of meditation followed by an inspirational talk. See his talk here: https://www.youtube.com/live/xsd8LhnHA74?si=KlEbRQvx1jSCdR-2
See a reflection on Margaret J. Wheatley’s book Restoring Sanity: Practices to awaken Generosity, Creativity and Kindness, here:
https://www.thelivingwater.com.au/blog/what-the-world-needs-now-are-islands-of-sanity