Good morning…
“Be Kind” was the title of yesterday’s blog post.
“Sue,” she responded. “This is one of the most profound of all of your posts. It speaks into my unsettled heart. The one that has journaled just now about the chaos of our current time. The out of control acting out behavior running rampant in our country that we were so privileged to believe was built on freedoms and possibilities and higher values. The country that has allowed so much growth and well being for many. But, tragically, not for all. The underpinnings of our optimism are being corroded and we, even the we who thought we already were, are being forced to look deeper for peace, well-being and a truth that will sustain us, even in this terribly uncertain time. Your voice. Your deep mirroring. Your deep search. All offer us a ballast in the storm. Please read today’s Rohr. Between the two of you, I awaken to this day, raise my sails, and catch the grace that is always there. I pray.”
Taking her advice, I googled “Richard Rohr blog” and, sure enough, God-inspired words resonated richly.
“I like to use the example of a small boat crossing the Gulf of Siam,” Rohr wrote. “In Vietnam, there are many people, called boat people, who leave the country in small boats. Often the boats are caught in rough seas or storms, the people may panic, and boats can sink. But if even one person aboard can remain calm, lucid, knowing what to do and what not to do, he or she can help the boat survive. His or her expression—face, voice—communicates clarity and calmness, and people have trust in that person. They will listen to what he or she says. One such person can save the lives of many.”
Rohr continued: “Our world is something like a small boat. Compared with the cosmos, our planet is a very small boat. We are about to panic because our situation is no better than the situation of the small boat in the sea. . . . Humankind has become a very dangerous species. We need people who can sit still and be able to smile, who can walk peacefully. We need people like that in order to save us.”
I took a moment to sit with this wisdom. Even one peaceful person aboard a storm tossed boat – his or her expression – face, voice – communicates clarity and calmness – one person anchored with the “peace of God” can save the lives of many (Philippians 4:7).
In the next moment I opened another email from a loyal subscriber. “I loved this poem this morning,” she responded. “Here is the poet reciting her poem. Her voice is calming to me.”
I touched on the link and yesterday’s posted poem came alive with creative expression, one face, one voice, one call to kindness in a time when humankind has become a very dangerous species.
We are filled with peace instead of panic since we know what to do and what to not do. We sit still. We smile. We walk with God. As Jesus said, “You’re blessed when you care. At the moment of being ‘care-full,’ you find yourselves cared for. You’re blessed when you get your inside world—your mind and heart—put right. Then you can see God in the outside world. You’re blessed when you can show people how to cooperate instead of compete or fight. That’s when you discover who you really are, and your place in God’s family” (Matthew 5:7-9, MSG).
Much like Naomi, to whom might your one voice, your one face pass along God’s peaceful kindness today?
…Sue…
P.S. Photo courtesy of Unsplash.com.
