A Joyful Practice

CODA & EXCERPTS: “Being Linda” & “‘Being…’ – Lessons in Svādyāya” May 17, 2026

Many blessings to everyone and especially to anyone Counting the Omer, and/or celebrating/observing the Sixth Sunday of Pascha: the Sunday of the Blind Man and/or International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia, Intersexism, and Transphobia.

This is the “missing” compilation post for Sunday, May 17^th. It includes a new coda and (previously posted) excerpts. My apologies for not posting before the practice. You can request an audio recording of this practice via a comment below or (for a slightly faster reply) you can email myra        (at) ajoyfulpractice.com.

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“It’s disheartening that we are still fighting. But we are dealing with human beings. As long as we are, there will always be those who feel the races should be separate.”

— Linda Brown, quoted in a 1994 New York Times article (around 40^th anniversary)

In some ways, the story of the Supreme Court of the United States’ landmark decision in (the first) Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, today (May 17^th) in 1954, is a story about more than Linda Brown and her parents Oliver and Leola Brown. It’s a story about more than the other children — of every ethnicity and race — going to school in the United States in the 1950s. In fact, it is an ongoing story about the almost 4 billion (and counting) school-aged children who have gone to public school in the United States since 1954. It’s a story about how children grow up and either become a benefit to society or a detriment.

I would argue that the ramifications of the decision to desegregate public schools in the US have (mostly) been beneficial. However, the decision (and the way it was implemented) was not perfect. Furthermore, the story does not (yet) have a happily-ever-after ending — because there are still people who want to “cycle trivialities” and find some way to “Other” someone (in this case, children) in order to segregate them. In fact, on Thursday (05/14), I went to an independent school district board meeting where parents, teachers, librarians, and community were speaking up against an ill-conceived “plan” to segregate some students in Special Education (SPED).

Now, if you know me personally — and you know I don’t have school-aged kids (or grandkids) — you might wonder why I would go to the aforementioned school board meeting. Bottom line: I live in a neighborhood with an elementary school, a middle school, and a public library that are part of the school district. More importantly, I have neighbors and friends currently enrolled in this school district. Some of those neighbors and friends, like my friend Teddy P, who has Down Syndrome, currently attend school with students who are in SPED, as well as students who are not. Teddy loves music, loves to dance, loves to swim, and REALLY loves to tell corny jokes. He’s a teenage boy, so he can be a little moody at times and a little stubborn; but, mostly I would describe him as sweet and gregarious (i.e., social and fun-loving).

Over the years, especially since I have been back in Texas, I have had the privilege of watching him grow up and develop into a person who can (and does) make a difference. Teddy is who he is, in part, because of his parents (and extended family). He is who he is, in part, because of the way they have advocated for him in his schools. They have made choices, in part, because the laws create the opportunity for them to make the best choices for Teddy. While the school board is not in a position to change the laws affecting people with disabilities, they are in a position to make it harder for people to exercise their rights — and that, unfortunately, is what they are attempting to do. Fortunately, the board is meeting with resistance: 99 people signed up to speak out on Thursday. One of the speakers was Teddy’s mom, Mireille, who pointed out that these children are not numbers and said:

“I’m here because something is going very wrong.”

It is hard to tell how many of the board members were really listening on Thursday and could see what was right in front of them. My guess is that some of them refuse to see and others… others might need a miracle. Speaking of miracles: In addition to being the anniversary of Brown v Board, today was also the Sunday of the Blind Man (in some Orthodox Christian traditions).¹

The Sunday of the Blind Man is dedicated to the story of Jesus healing a man who was blind because he was born without eyes. According to the Gospel According to John (9), there was a lot of drama surrounding this healing. The disciples questioned whether or not the man’s disability was related to someone’s sin and then attempted to identify the catalyst for the miracle. (Spoiler alert, Jesus said disability had nothing to do with sin and it’s the man’s faith, not the clay or water, that serves as the healing catalyst.) The story also includes some people questioning the fact that the healing took place on the Sabbath; questioning the identity of the man after he was healed; and still others noting the significance of this being the first time “any man opened the eyes of one that was born blind”. What is particularly notable about that last part is that, according to the gospels, Jesus had previously opened the eyes of others (i.e., people who should have had the ability to see what was right in front of them). The story also underscores the guilt of people who are willfully ignorant (i.e., people who should have had the ability to see what was right in front of them).

Metaphorically speaking, the story of the blind man holds a lesson for us all. Sometimes, we need a little help in order to see. Sometimes, we need a little faith. Sometimes we just need to open our eyes and remember (as I mentioned before) that every child grows up to be benefit to society or a detriment.

The difference really does come down to what we are taught… and how we are taught it.

“None of us got where we are solely by pulling ourselves up by our bootstraps. We got here because somebody – a parent, a teacher, an Ivy League crony or a few nuns – bent down and helped us pick up our boots.”

— Supreme Court Justice (and former NAACP chief counsel) Thurgood Marshall referencing his SCOTUS successor in a Newsweek interview (dated October 28, 1991)

Click on the first excerpt title for a related meditation.

Click on the second excerpt title for more history.

Svādyāya I: Being Linda (the “missing” Monday post)

FTWMI: “Being…” – Lessons in Svādyāya (an expanded and “renewed” post)

“When they won, it set a lasting legal precedent. [Linda] Brown was attending an integrated junior high school by then, and she later recalled the initial desegregation of local elementary schools going smoothly. But over the course of her life, she saw the reality of school integration fall short, locally and nationally.”

— quoted from the 2018 Chalkbeat article entitled “In her own words: Remembering Linda Brown, who was at the center of America’s school segregation battles” by Sarah Darville (posted May 27, 2018)

Saturday’s playlist is available on YouTube and Spotify. [Look for “05172020 Brown”]

NOTE: The playlists have slightly different before/after music and the YouTube playlist includes the video below of Linda Carol Brown.

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).

You’re Invited to Bend… & To Take The Deepest Breath You’ve Taken — On Retreat!

September 25 — 27, 2026

NOTE: ¹During the 2026 practice, I referenced the International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia, Intersexism, and Transphobia (instead of the Sunday of the Blind Man). I did not mention, however, that the acronym, IDAHOBIT, made me think of The Lord of the Rings and how all the different types of people came together to (essentially) save the world. We can all “be da hobbit”, we just have to open our eyes and see the common threads that connect us.

### I da hobbit! Are u a hobbit? ###