Today is Remembrance Sunday. Today, we commemorate those who died in active military service. Mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, husbands, wives, children and friends all mourn those they love and have lost in conflicts around the world. I have close friends in the military. My daughters best friends father was in Afghanistan for 6 months. I saw what they all went through at close quarters and it only served to reinforce what I already feel so strongly in my heart. There HAS to be another way. There IS another way. Conflict doesnt bring peace. Love does. I am not talking about the politicians who sign the papers and press the button. Im talking about each and every one of us seeking to understand rather than condemn, extending compassion rather than judgment, love rather than hatred, unity rather than division and a universal understanding that we do to one another we do to ourselves. War doesnt happen in a moment. It happens as a result of a succession of choices. Choices we each make. Frequently and repeatedly. What would happen if at each of those choice points, instead of fear, we choose love? Each and every one of us. What would happen in our lives if TODAY - right now - we think of one person with whom we are in conflict and, instead of closing our heart to them, we open it and ask the question Right now, in this moment, what would love do? and then do that? Thats how our world moves from conflict to peace. Thats how mothers stop having to wipe away their their tears as they send their children to war or bury them as barely more than children. Thats how people become an integral part of their communities and thats how our political, economical and faith systems move from fear to love. This year and every year, I mourn the loss of every single life lost in conflict around the world. My heart goes out to every single person feeling the pain of mourning a beloved friend or family member. But here is the distinction: I will not use this day to celebrate, villify or glorify the horrors of war. I will not use it to justify senseless conflict. Today and every day, I choose to champion love and to campaign for peace, compassion, tolerance, unity and kindness because I KNOW, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that THIS is how our world gets better. This is how WE make our world better... one heart at a time. With each decision. If the definition of madness is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result, isnt it time for a new paradigm based on a unity of humanity? Isnt it time for each of us to say Enoughs enough. No more war in the name of peace? Today, I ask this of you: in remembering those who have been lost, think long and hard about what can be gained. Please channel your energy into taking action every moment of every day so that as global citizens, we can finally learn to live at peace with one another
Posted on: Sun, 10 Nov 2013 09:59:40 +0000
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