March 21, 2025 • 15 mins
In this powerful episode of The Infinitely Precious Podcast, James Henry reflects on the deep frustration and exhaustion many feel while standing against injustice, particularly in a time of increasing hate and marginalization. Acknowledging the emotional toll of activism, he explores how we can resist without letting anger consume us, emphasizing the importance of inner strength, endurance, and grounding practices. Drawing on wisdom from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., the Dhammapada, and contemplative traditions, James highlights how love—not hate—ultimately transforms the world. He shares practical tools for staying engaged without burnout, including breathwork, setting boundaries, leaning on community, and daily grounding exercises. The episode closes with an invitation to embrace small sustaining practices, reminding listeners that resisting injustice does not mean becoming what we resist—it means remaining rooted in love.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Intro (00:00):
Welcome to the infinitely precious podcast produced by
(00:03):
infinitely precious LLC. Yourhost is James Henry. Remember,
you are infinitely precious andunconditionally loved for the
gift you already are.
James (00:12):
Hello beloved. It's me James and I'm here with you
today on my Friday only podcastand the Friday only podcast is a
podcast doesn't go out in anyother form. Sometimes I choose
to share it in video form butmost of the time it just goes
out as a podcast Fridayafternoon at three I suspect I
(00:37):
will be sharing this one inother venues because I feel like
the topic is an important one.We live in a time right now that
is filled with a great deal ofhate and frustration and I know
a lot of people who are seekingto stand up against the hate and
(01:00):
injustice they say beingperpetrated. I'm one of them.
And trying to speak truth topower, speaking truth into a
world that seems occasionally tohave forgotten what truth is,
what fact is, and begins toconflate a lot of statements
(01:23):
with the truth. So I've beentalking to people who feel
frustrated by this, who feelanger, who start to feel burned
out and exhausted by theprocess. It's easy to get to
that place. I'm just beinghonest. It's easy for me
(01:45):
sometimes to get close to thatplace.
When I'm talking aboutinjustices, want to be clear, I
think marginalizing peoplebecause of their ethnic origin
like black, Latinx, indigenouspeople is wrong. I believe that
(02:15):
demonization of people becausethey are a part of the LGBTQIA
plus community is wrong andmarginalizing people, taking
away their rights, stealingtheir stories from the public
forum is not all right. And itfeels and is unjust. And there's
(02:43):
a lot of hateful rhetoric aboutit wrapped up in it. Now, I want
to say it's important because ifyou're one of those folks who
are advocating for one or all ofthese kinds of concerns about
the poor, the marginalized, thedemonized in our society, it
(03:08):
takes endurance.
It takes endurance. A lot ofthings are coming quickly, and
it is easy to imagine drinkingfrom a fire hose and be
overwhelmed too much, too fast.And so activism, standing up for
what we believe and justicerequires endurance. And
(03:31):
endurance requires a kind ofinner strength. And that inner
strength, I want to tell youright now I believe if you're
listening to this podcast andeven for people who aren't, you
have inner strength.
You just may not have found away to connect with it. So how
(03:52):
do we resist the hate withoutletting it consume us? How do we
stay engaged without burningout? These are the questions
that drive my reflection fortoday. First of all, I know how
heavy anger and frustration feeland I know that even carrying it
(04:19):
for other people as sometimes Ifind myself doing can be
exhausting.
It can tire us out. So thatleads us to want to fight fire
with fire, to meet hatred inwith an equal kind of stance,
(04:39):
with equal force. And so meethate with hate. You know, Martin
Luther King Junior, Doctor.Martin Luther King Junior shared
a thought and you know he mayhave because he studied with
Gandhi I know that he wasfamiliar with the dhammapada And
(05:03):
the dhammapada, I wanted to readyou a quick quote from the
dhammapada in the beginning, Forhatred can never put an end to
hatred.
Love alone can. This is anunalterable law. Hate can never
put an end to hatred. So ifyou're advocating for love, if
(05:29):
you're advocating for inclusion,if you're advocating for not
marginalizing people, doing sofrom the same place, the same
hatred, the same denigration asothers are will never drive that
injustice out. Hate cannot driveout hate, only love can do that.
(05:58):
It's it's going to be hard workand it's going to require a long
term vision. So how can weengage without being reactive?
If we're not careful, the veryanger we feel which motivated us
in the beginning begins to shapeus into a person we don't want
(06:22):
to become. So we have to begrounded in our approach. I
learned this quite frankly, I'vereflected on it a long time, but
when I studied with FatherRichard Rohr at the Center for
Action and Contemplation, hestarts with action that leads to
(06:44):
contemplation and contemplationis that stepping back and
finding that quiet space withinthat allows us to really engage
the injustices of this world,the evil that we see happening
without becoming evil ourselves.
So there is a great wisdom inthe contemplative tradition that
(07:05):
I want to invite you to embracewith me. If only for the time
allotted in this podcast. Whenwe are still for a few moments
every day, maybe even more thana few moments every day, that
(07:25):
stillness can allow us to clearout the space within, to let go
of the things that are making usangry so that instead of working
from that place of anger, we seewhat's making us angry, see what
the issues are, let them go andchoose to engage from a place of
(07:51):
love. It's chaos. The worldright now feels a little chaotic
and in the midst of that, it'sthe image I see is being in the
midst of a heavy windstorm and atree with deep roots that help
(08:14):
to keep it centered, groundedwhere it is.
It bends with the wind. Itlearns how far it can bend but
doesn't blow over when its rootsare deep. And I think to some
extent that's what we need whenwe are pushing against forces
(08:40):
that are injust, that dodehumanize and steal the
personhood of others seek tosteal it anyway. We need to have
those kinds of roots that bringus back. If you're a person of
faith, that might be a life ofquiet prayer.
(09:02):
It might look like somethingelse to someone who is not a
person of faith. It might looklike a quiet meditation, perhaps
a mantra that we speak toourselves. Only love. Only love.
(09:25):
You know, it could be somethingalong those lines when we feel
the anger rising up in us.
I want to repeat something Isaid a little earlier and that
is contemplation does not meaninaction. It means acting from a
place of greater wholeness andnot from a place of reactivity.
(09:51):
When I read social media, I wantto react. I often want to react
and I do occasionally lose trackand react. And when I do that,
what ends up happening is Isometimes say things I probably
am not proud of saying.
(10:12):
And as I teach in a relationshipclass that I teach, you can't un
say the things what you havesaid. You could ask for
forgiveness but what's said issaid. So we choose carefully and
wisely how we will respond andwhat we will say to the
(10:34):
injustices we see, to thechallenges that exist. So what
does practice look like, James?You've talked about practice.
What does it look like? It canbe as simple as when somebody
says something that infuriatesyou, that pushes you, taking a
(10:57):
breath before you say anything.Taking a breath before you say
anything. It works in personalconversations as well. Take a
breath before you say anything.
When you feel the bile rising inyou, take a breath, slow down,
let that emerge when it's ready,but in a more measured tone, not
(11:21):
in a hateful one because againhate doesn't turn away hate,
only love can do that. Hold thebothand, realize that pain and
hope are often born together,grief and resistance can
(11:41):
coexist. You feel the pain andyou can respond, resist, act on
behalf of those who cannot orare not able for one reason or
another to act for themselves.Set boundaries. Decide when
(12:02):
you're going to disengage from atoxic conversation or toxic
media, whether it be the news oranything else.
I am only going to take so muchwhen I feel the tightness begin
in my chest or in my shouldersor I feel my fist clenching, I'm
just going to say clearly wecannot come we have come to an
(12:23):
impasse and walk away. Turn offwhatever the media is. You can
set your own boundaries. This isyou get to set your own
boundaries at least you for themost part. Obviously there are
exceptions to the rule, but forthe most part you can set your
own boundaries.
(12:44):
Practice daily grounding. Take amoment, for silence, breath, and
gratitude in the morning. Bethankful for what you are able
to do, for the sleep you wereable to get, for the breakfast
perhaps that you ate, for thefriends you have that don't
leave you alone in this, take amoment to step back and practice
(13:09):
a little gratitude and breathfor just a minute every day. It
may grow into something longer,that's what it did for me. Lean
on community.
Justice is a collective issueand find people who will engage
with you who are similar intheir willingness to ground
(13:30):
themselves and not simply bereactive, who are willing to
really engage the issues tospeak from a place of love, not
who are just going to stir youup and make you mad and remind
you of all the injustice, butwill join with you in making a
difference. So having said allthat, take a moment now. Catch
(13:56):
your breath and breathe. Justiceis a long work and yet love
sustains us, it holds us up.What's one practice you can try
this week that might helpsustain you in the long run,
(14:16):
give you endurance for this thatlies ahead?
Is it simply being thankful forfive things in the morning or
one thing if that's all you canthink of? Is it taking a quiet
moment first thing in themorning just to enjoy a cup of
tea or a glass of water, cup ofcoffee, whatever it is you do
slow down just a bit? Resistinginjustice does not mean becoming
(14:46):
what we resist. It means insteadto remain the person that we
are, to act from a place oflove. Remember you are
infinitely precious andunconditionally loved for the
gift you already are.
Remember that hate cannot driveout hate only love can do that.
(15:07):
That's an immutable unalterablelaw. So love boldly set
boundaries step back catch yourbreath. This is an endurance
work not a sprint. Until thenext time I wish you all the
very best my friends.
Welcome to the infinitely precious podcast produced by
(00:03):
infinitely precious LLC. Yourhost is James Henry. Remember,
you are infinitely precious andunconditionally loved for the
gift you already are.
James (00:12):
Hello beloved. It's me James and I'm here with you
today on my Friday only podcastand the Friday only podcast is a
podcast doesn't go out in anyother form. Sometimes I choose
to share it in video form butmost of the time it just goes
out as a podcast Fridayafternoon at three I suspect I
(00:37):
will be sharing this one inother venues because I feel like
the topic is an important one.We live in a time right now that
is filled with a great deal ofhate and frustration and I know
a lot of people who are seekingto stand up against the hate and
(01:00):
injustice they say beingperpetrated. I'm one of them.
And trying to speak truth topower, speaking truth into a
world that seems occasionally tohave forgotten what truth is,
what fact is, and begins toconflate a lot of statements
(01:23):
with the truth. So I've beentalking to people who feel
frustrated by this, who feelanger, who start to feel burned
out and exhausted by theprocess. It's easy to get to
that place. I'm just beinghonest. It's easy for me
(01:45):
sometimes to get close to thatplace.
When I'm talking aboutinjustices, want to be clear, I
think marginalizing peoplebecause of their ethnic origin
like black, Latinx, indigenouspeople is wrong. I believe that
(02:15):
demonization of people becausethey are a part of the LGBTQIA
plus community is wrong andmarginalizing people, taking
away their rights, stealingtheir stories from the public
forum is not all right. And itfeels and is unjust. And there's
(02:43):
a lot of hateful rhetoric aboutit wrapped up in it. Now, I want
to say it's important because ifyou're one of those folks who
are advocating for one or all ofthese kinds of concerns about
the poor, the marginalized, thedemonized in our society, it
(03:08):
takes endurance.
It takes endurance. A lot ofthings are coming quickly, and
it is easy to imagine drinkingfrom a fire hose and be
overwhelmed too much, too fast.And so activism, standing up for
what we believe and justicerequires endurance. And
(03:31):
endurance requires a kind ofinner strength. And that inner
strength, I want to tell youright now I believe if you're
listening to this podcast andeven for people who aren't, you
have inner strength.
You just may not have found away to connect with it. So how
(03:52):
do we resist the hate withoutletting it consume us? How do we
stay engaged without burningout? These are the questions
that drive my reflection fortoday. First of all, I know how
heavy anger and frustration feeland I know that even carrying it
(04:19):
for other people as sometimes Ifind myself doing can be
exhausting.
It can tire us out. So thatleads us to want to fight fire
with fire, to meet hatred inwith an equal kind of stance,
(04:39):
with equal force. And so meethate with hate. You know, Martin
Luther King Junior, Doctor.Martin Luther King Junior shared
a thought and you know he mayhave because he studied with
Gandhi I know that he wasfamiliar with the dhammapada And
(05:03):
the dhammapada, I wanted to readyou a quick quote from the
dhammapada in the beginning, Forhatred can never put an end to
hatred.
Love alone can. This is anunalterable law. Hate can never
put an end to hatred. So ifyou're advocating for love, if
(05:29):
you're advocating for inclusion,if you're advocating for not
marginalizing people, doing sofrom the same place, the same
hatred, the same denigration asothers are will never drive that
injustice out. Hate cannot driveout hate, only love can do that.
(05:58):
It's it's going to be hard workand it's going to require a long
term vision. So how can weengage without being reactive?
If we're not careful, the veryanger we feel which motivated us
in the beginning begins to shapeus into a person we don't want
(06:22):
to become. So we have to begrounded in our approach. I
learned this quite frankly, I'vereflected on it a long time, but
when I studied with FatherRichard Rohr at the Center for
Action and Contemplation, hestarts with action that leads to
(06:44):
contemplation and contemplationis that stepping back and
finding that quiet space withinthat allows us to really engage
the injustices of this world,the evil that we see happening
without becoming evil ourselves.
So there is a great wisdom inthe contemplative tradition that
(07:05):
I want to invite you to embracewith me. If only for the time
allotted in this podcast. Whenwe are still for a few moments
every day, maybe even more thana few moments every day, that
(07:25):
stillness can allow us to clearout the space within, to let go
of the things that are making usangry so that instead of working
from that place of anger, we seewhat's making us angry, see what
the issues are, let them go andchoose to engage from a place of
(07:51):
love. It's chaos. The worldright now feels a little chaotic
and in the midst of that, it'sthe image I see is being in the
midst of a heavy windstorm and atree with deep roots that help
(08:14):
to keep it centered, groundedwhere it is.
It bends with the wind. Itlearns how far it can bend but
doesn't blow over when its rootsare deep. And I think to some
extent that's what we need whenwe are pushing against forces
(08:40):
that are injust, that dodehumanize and steal the
personhood of others seek tosteal it anyway. We need to have
those kinds of roots that bringus back. If you're a person of
faith, that might be a life ofquiet prayer.
(09:02):
It might look like somethingelse to someone who is not a
person of faith. It might looklike a quiet meditation, perhaps
a mantra that we speak toourselves. Only love. Only love.
(09:25):
You know, it could be somethingalong those lines when we feel
the anger rising up in us.
I want to repeat something Isaid a little earlier and that
is contemplation does not meaninaction. It means acting from a
place of greater wholeness andnot from a place of reactivity.
(09:51):
When I read social media, I wantto react. I often want to react
and I do occasionally lose trackand react. And when I do that,
what ends up happening is Isometimes say things I probably
am not proud of saying.
(10:12):
And as I teach in a relationshipclass that I teach, you can't un
say the things what you havesaid. You could ask for
forgiveness but what's said issaid. So we choose carefully and
wisely how we will respond andwhat we will say to the
(10:34):
injustices we see, to thechallenges that exist. So what
does practice look like, James?You've talked about practice.
What does it look like? It canbe as simple as when somebody
says something that infuriatesyou, that pushes you, taking a
(10:57):
breath before you say anything.Taking a breath before you say
anything. It works in personalconversations as well. Take a
breath before you say anything.
When you feel the bile rising inyou, take a breath, slow down,
let that emerge when it's ready,but in a more measured tone, not
(11:21):
in a hateful one because againhate doesn't turn away hate,
only love can do that. Hold thebothand, realize that pain and
hope are often born together,grief and resistance can
(11:41):
coexist. You feel the pain andyou can respond, resist, act on
behalf of those who cannot orare not able for one reason or
another to act for themselves.Set boundaries. Decide when
(12:02):
you're going to disengage from atoxic conversation or toxic
media, whether it be the news oranything else.
I am only going to take so muchwhen I feel the tightness begin
in my chest or in my shouldersor I feel my fist clenching, I'm
just going to say clearly wecannot come we have come to an
(12:23):
impasse and walk away. Turn offwhatever the media is. You can
set your own boundaries. This isyou get to set your own
boundaries at least you for themost part. Obviously there are
exceptions to the rule, but forthe most part you can set your
own boundaries.
(12:44):
Practice daily grounding. Take amoment, for silence, breath, and
gratitude in the morning. Bethankful for what you are able
to do, for the sleep you wereable to get, for the breakfast
perhaps that you ate, for thefriends you have that don't
leave you alone in this, take amoment to step back and practice
(13:09):
a little gratitude and breathfor just a minute every day. It
may grow into something longer,that's what it did for me. Lean
on community.
Justice is a collective issueand find people who will engage
with you who are similar intheir willingness to ground
(13:30):
themselves and not simply bereactive, who are willing to
really engage the issues tospeak from a place of love, not
who are just going to stir youup and make you mad and remind
you of all the injustice, butwill join with you in making a
difference. So having said allthat, take a moment now. Catch
(13:56):
your breath and breathe. Justiceis a long work and yet love
sustains us, it holds us up.What's one practice you can try
this week that might helpsustain you in the long run,
(14:16):
give you endurance for this thatlies ahead?
Is it simply being thankful forfive things in the morning or
one thing if that's all you canthink of? Is it taking a quiet
moment first thing in themorning just to enjoy a cup of
tea or a glass of water, cup ofcoffee, whatever it is you do
slow down just a bit? Resistinginjustice does not mean becoming
(14:46):
what we resist. It means insteadto remain the person that we
are, to act from a place oflove. Remember you are
infinitely precious andunconditionally loved for the
gift you already are.
Remember that hate cannot driveout hate only love can do that.
(15:07):
That's an immutable unalterablelaw. So love boldly set
boundaries step back catch yourbreath. This is an endurance
work not a sprint. Until thenext time I wish you all the
very best my friends.
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