My heart is heavy. Words unable to be formed. So much sorrow and suffering. Truths we all know—we cannot change anyone; change comes from the inside. Like physical characteristics, often, one cannot change the characteristics of their personality, and the way their brain works. It is not easy for me to accept things as they ought not be. It is not easy for me to accept my limitations. My prayer to change the world has become a prayer to bless the world, one encounter at a time. May we find a way to bless, someone, this day...
Choose to Bless the World
Your gifts—whatever you discover them to be—
can be used to bless or curse the world.
The mind's power,
the strength of the hands,
the reaches of the heart,
the gift of speaking, listening, imagining, seeing, waiting
Any of these can serve to feed the hungry,
bind up wounds,
welcome the stranger,
praise what is sacred,
do the work of justice or offer love.
Any of these can draw down the prison door,
hoard bread,
abandon the poor,
obscure what is holy,
comply with injustice
or withhold love.
You must answer this question:
What will you do with your gifts?
Choose to bless the world.
The choice to bless the world is more than an act of will,
a moving forward into the world
with the intention to do good.
It is an act of recognition,
a confession of surprise,
a grateful acknowledgment
that in the midst of a broken world
unspeakable beauty, grace and mystery abide.
There is an embrace of kindness
that encompasses all life, even yours.
And while there is injustice, anesthetization,
or evil there moves a holy disturbance,
a benevolent rage,
a revolutionary love, protesting, urging, insisting
that which is sacred will not be defiled.
Those who bless the world live their life
as a gesture of thanks
for this beauty and this rage.
The choice to bless the world
can take you into solitude
to search for the sources
of power and grace;
native wisdom, healing, and liberation.
More, the choice will draw you into community,
the endeavor shared,
the heritage passed on,
the companionship of struggle,
the importance of keeping faith,
the life of ritual and praise,
the comfort of human friendship,
the company of earth
the chorus of life welcoming you.
None of us alone can save the world.
Together—that is another possibility, waiting.
—Rebecca Parker, from Blessing the World: What Can Save Us Now
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