A Joyful Practice

A Quick Note & EXCERPT: “The Difference A Day Made II” (a post-practice Monday post) July 28, 2025

Many blessings to everyone and especially to anyone working for peace, freedom, and wisdom — especially when it gets hot (inside and outside).

Stay hydrated, y’all!

This is the post-practice post for Monday, July 28^th. The 2025 prompt question was, “How do you feel about citizenship?” You can request an audio recording of this practice or a previous practice via a comment below or (for a slightly faster reply) you can email myra   (at) ajoyfulpractice.com.

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“So far as the appeals of the learned gentleman [from Ohio, U. S. Representative George Hunt Pendleton] are concerned, in his pathetic winding up, I will be willing to take my chance, when we all molder in the dust. He may have his epitaph written, if it be truly written, ‘Here rests the ablest and most pertinacious defender of slavery and opponent of liberty;”’ and I will be satisfied if my epitaph shall be written thus: ‘Here lies one who never rose to any eminence, who only courted the low ambition to have it said that he striven to ameliorate the condition of the poor, the lowly, the downtrodden of every race and language and color.’

I shall be content, with such a eulogy on his lofty tomb and such an inscription on my humble tomb, to trust our memories to the judgement of the ages.”

— quoted from the January 13, 1865 speech by U. S. Representative (from Pennsylvania) Thaddeus Stevens, as published in The Selected Papers of Thaddeus Stevens: April 1865 – August 1868 by Thaddeus Stevens, edited by Beverly Palmer and Holly Ochoa

Yes, today’s prompt question is (as one of my yoga buddies put it) “loaded”. Keep in mind that I actually re-worded the question for the email and for the blog (for clarity and so that the question would be a little less “charged”). Still, the subject of citizenship and — in particular — conversations about the 14^th Amendment to the United States Constitution can get contentious right now. In fact, such conversations (in 2025) could be as controversial as they were today in 1866, when the amendment was officially adopted by the United States Congress.

Of course, I can’t help wondering why the subject of citizenship (still) sparks so much argumentative debate and litigation — why it has always seemed to be so contentious. To start finding answers, we have to go back to the events that led to the amendment being proposed; some of the reasons why you may find more than one ratification and adoption date for it; and some of the related legal cases associated with it.

CLICK ON THE EXCERPT TITLE BELOW FOR MORE.

FTWMI: The Difference A Day Made II

“I do not pretend to understand the moral universe. The arc is a long one. My eye reaches but little ways. I cannot calculate the curve and complete the figure by experience of sight. I can divine it by conscience. And from what I see I am sure it bends toward justice.”

— quoted from an 1853 sermon by abolitionist and Unitarian minister Theodore Parker

There is no playlist for the Common Ground Meditation Center practices. 

Click here for a post about “deep listening”.

If you are thinking about suicide, worried about a friend or loved one, or would like emotional support, you can dial 988 (in the US) or call 1-800-273-TALK (8255) for the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. You can also call this TALK line if you are struggling with addiction or involved in an abusive relationship. The Lifeline network is free, confidential, and available to all 24/7. YOU CAN TALK ABOUT ANYTHING.

White Flag is an app, which I have not yet researched, but which may be helpful if you need peer-to-peer (non-professional) support.

If you are a young person in crisis, feeling suicidal, or in need of a safe and judgement-free place to talk, you can also click here to contact the TrevorLifeline (which is staffed 24/7 with trained counselors).

### WHAT DOES CITIZENSHIP MEAN TO YOU? ###