By Cassandra Carmichael
Image via Unsplash
Zoom calls have become the new norm and with them, as has been commented on in a variety of forums, comes the kid “photo bomb.” Or the crying child in the background. Or the noise of child unrest coming from the other room. Children have most definitely stepped into the work “frame.”
At first glance, one may judge this change to be messy, unplanned and inconvenient. But perhaps this is what life is really like anyway, and we are just now beginning to live life. Living life “unedited” and integrated may be more cumbersome, but it does have its upsides. We have opportunities to participate more fully with our families and those around us. We can embrace a deeper fullness of relationship with those who are photo bombing our carefully crafted “frame.”
More importantly, this lesson can be taken beyond the confines of our own households. The COVID-19 pandemic has put a spotlight on human health, but it has also thrust into our “frame” other issues such as worker justice, environmental justice and racial justice. Injustice has existed all along, but the pandemic has put an undeniable spotlight on these critical areas that need a salve of enlightenment.
When my kids step into the frame of a Zoom call, I am a little—sometimes a lot—annoyed. They are disrupting the tidiness of meetings. This inconvenient annoyance to business as usual should be countered by the recognition that the façade of yesterday’s normal doesn’t speak fully to the reality of today. Perhaps they step into the frame to remind us of untended relationships, or to beg us to see all that we are actually missing and neglecting.
In a similar way, justice, along with the many warriors of truth that she employs, has stealthily and persistently stepped into the frame of our lives. Justice reminds us, often starkly, of the many relationships—particularly with our black and brown neighbors—that have been left untended. The environmental injustices that we have created and perpetuated are begging to be addressed. We should now be able to see and really begin to earnestly address the disparate pollution that communities of color have suffered, to attend to worker justice, to dismantle the systems that have held entire communities at the margins to suffer.
Pope Francis just five short years ago reminded us in his encyclical Laudato Si’ that the entire human family has a common home. No amount of segmentation of our lives or separation of communities can alter that reality. And when injustice steps into the “frame,” as it has done during the global pandemic, it is reminder that we were created to be in right relationship with God, creation and each other.
It is my prayer that we can hold tight to this unplanned moment as an opportunity to move towards right relationships and to heed the call of justice that has stepped into our “frame.”
At first glance, one may judge this change to be messy, unplanned and inconvenient. But perhaps this is what life is really like anyway, and we are just now beginning to live life. Living life “unedited” and integrated may be more cumbersome, but it does have its upsides. We have opportunities to participate more fully with our families and those around us. We can embrace a deeper fullness of relationship with those who are photo bombing our carefully crafted “frame.”
More importantly, this lesson can be taken beyond the confines of our own households. The COVID-19 pandemic has put a spotlight on human health, but it has also thrust into our “frame” other issues such as worker justice, environmental justice and racial justice. Injustice has existed all along, but the pandemic has put an undeniable spotlight on these critical areas that need a salve of enlightenment.
When my kids step into the frame of a Zoom call, I am a little—sometimes a lot—annoyed. They are disrupting the tidiness of meetings. This inconvenient annoyance to business as usual should be countered by the recognition that the façade of yesterday’s normal doesn’t speak fully to the reality of today. Perhaps they step into the frame to remind us of untended relationships, or to beg us to see all that we are actually missing and neglecting.
In a similar way, justice, along with the many warriors of truth that she employs, has stealthily and persistently stepped into the frame of our lives. Justice reminds us, often starkly, of the many relationships—particularly with our black and brown neighbors—that have been left untended. The environmental injustices that we have created and perpetuated are begging to be addressed. We should now be able to see and really begin to earnestly address the disparate pollution that communities of color have suffered, to attend to worker justice, to dismantle the systems that have held entire communities at the margins to suffer.
Pope Francis just five short years ago reminded us in his encyclical Laudato Si’ that the entire human family has a common home. No amount of segmentation of our lives or separation of communities can alter that reality. And when injustice steps into the “frame,” as it has done during the global pandemic, it is reminder that we were created to be in right relationship with God, creation and each other.
It is my prayer that we can hold tight to this unplanned moment as an opportunity to move towards right relationships and to heed the call of justice that has stepped into our “frame.”