Since 9/11/2001 our country and its people have gone through a myriad
of changes. We experienced together the same phenomenon and went through
the same process of shock, fear,...disbelief and grief...it was a time
of coming together as a country, as a people.
But, in the subsequent years, I have noticed a resurgence of what is
being called a new "national pride" and a renewal of misguided
"patriotism."
What is interesting is that this seems to be manifesting in a number of religious based issues.
I have been receiving countless emails and articles, of late, on both
the issues of the use of “under God” in our pledge of allegiance and the
controversy about prayer in public schools. I have heard many opinions
on these subjects both for and against and for a vast number of reasons.
These debates have caused me to look deeply at my own values and revisit some of my own deep-seated beliefs.
You see after the events of 9/11 my reactions were much the same as the rest of the country ... all of them fear based.
I heard many phrases bandied around by the media and by politicians.
They all spoke of separateness, enemies, attacks and counter attacks.
They used words like “them and us “, “the good guys (us) and the bad
guys (them,)” ,” those who would attack our freedom and our way of
life”, “ those who hate us”. For the first time, in my adult life, I
found my belief system begin to crumble as I was spiraling out of
control fueled by panic and terror.
On the Friday following
the attacks I attended a service at a local Catholic church around the
corner from where I lived…This would not have normally been my service
of choice but I was literally paralyzed in fear and could no longer bear
the pain of separation that I was experiencing, and I had known the
priest, Father Kennedy, as he was the one who so graciously and
compassionately came to my house where my father lay in hospice and
administered him last rites…I remember being so impressed with his
gentle spirit and loving being as he literally dropped everything to
answer a call from someone who was not a member of his parish and who he
did not know…And the prayers he said with my father, surprisingly to
me, were not the prayers of death but of healing and hope…He was so kind
and gracious and genuinely concerned for our entire family that it was
indeed a gift for all of us…
At that service on 9/14/2001,
Father Kennedy said something that brought me back to my spiritual core
and the point of the beginning of my healing and clarity…He quoted a
verse from the Bible…over and over…”MAN MEANT IT FOR EVIL…BUT GOD MEANT
IT FOR GOOD!”: He kept reminding us of all the good that it had brought
out in the citizens of the world and our fellow countrymen …of the
people that had rushed to the aid of the victims and their families of
the countless and limitless acts of personal courage, sacrifice,
prayers, compassion and concern for each other that had occurred…
It was at that moment that Spirit, found a small but definitive hole
through the fear to bring me back to the Truth that was at the core of
my reality. And in the subsequent days and weeks, as I was riveted, like
the rest of my fellow countrymen to the news channels and the speeches,
it was one term that permanently turned the tides to bring me back to
my heart ‘s foundation...it was the words “ the evildoers.” And It was
at that instant that I could feel a major shift occur within my entire
being...in that moment I became aware that the enemy was not outside of
our borders but within ourselves. And I literally was brought to my
knees in a fervent prayer for peace and compassion…the words kept
ringing inside my head…”Man meant it for evil, but God meant it for
Good”…and the prayers kept coming, through tear filled eyes to Creator,
for the Light that was dawning so profoundly inside of my very
Being…Prayers of Gratitude…Prayers of Joy and of Love…
At that defining moment, my fear for my own personal issues shifted to a concern for the consciousness of the entire planet.
The famous words rung true in my ears...and took on a meaning that I
had never considered before...”We have nothing to fear ,but fear
itself.” I understood with an awareness that goes beyond all
words....that it was the fear and the fear alone that would destroy
us...not our so called “enemies.” And then another quote surfaced..."The
fault, dear Brutus lies not within our stars, but within ourselves.”
All that week, and in the months that were to follow, we went into our
churches and synagogues and places of worship. We prayed for solace, we
huddled together in candlelit prayer vigils, we mourned our dead and
then we waged war in the name of ”God “ and righteousness.
And
my soul was crying out in pain...for I knew that in that moment we were
not expressing the “God” we professed to worship…(and once again in most
recent events of our country’s jubilant celebration over the death of
one that we had pronounced the “architect” of that day.)
Everything inside of me knew that the only way to honor this Spirit
would be to extend to those fists that were clenched in fear, rage and
anger towards us, the outstretched, open hands of love, peace,
understanding and compassion…and that we are all responsible!
That fateful day back in 2001, was a wake up call to build bridges...not to destroy them.
And as a nation we had begun to enter into a frightening and arrogant
place of religious fanaticism instead of evolving into a spiritual
awakening.
We had forgotten the very tenets on which this
country that we all love so dearly was founded. Freedom, the freedom to
say or not say whatever we believe is true for us.
The freedom of the individual to worship or not worship in the manner that best befits his own souls growth.
You see we are not One Nation, under God we are citizens of the Cosmos and the Beloved Creations of the One Universal Mind.
We are all One. We are not separate from each other. We say this so
often but do we really understand the full implications of its truth?
I am reminded of a dear friend's sudden awareness earlier this year to
the question that had plagued her for some time. She said one day, as if
a light had gone on... “I will never again ask if I am my brother’s
keeper.. for I am my brother!”
You see, we do not honor our
Creator by making our selves separate from those who walk this earth
with us, or by reciting words that we learn by rote...they are
meaningless if we are not expressing Spirit for all that inhabit this
planet with our thoughts and our actions of compassion and understanding
and love.
I would like to share with you the words written by
Edna Reitz when she penned the Global Pledge of Allegiance in 1988,
which has hung proudly on my wall for over 25 years.
"I pledge allegiance to the Earth
And to the Universal Spirit
Which gives us Life;
One planet, indivisible.
With Peace and Justice for Us All.
I pledge to do my best
To uphold the trust bestowed
In the gift of my Life;
To care for our planet and
our atmosphere,
To respect and honor
all her inhabitants,
All people, animals,
plants and resources,
To create a legacy
for our children
And our children's children
In a world of Harmony and Love.
I pledge allegiance
to the Universal Spirit,
By whatever name it may be called.
To align my Life
With the ongoing process
of Creation;
To grow myself with care,
To act from my own integrity,
To be for others
How I would want them
to be for me.
Together,
May we carry this vision
In our hearts,
Into our daily choices,
And through our
expanding consciousness
Within and beyond our planet... “
So in closing on the anniversary of that fateful day, I choose to
remember the lessons learned, I choose to honor those who have passed
with the hope of a renewed sense of Respect for all Humanity…
I have learned…
~ That might is not right…
~ That actions wrought from retaliation, revenge, fear and anger are not born from the Spirit of our Creator.
~ That no one is immune to senseless acts of terrorism and violence,
and that true security and peace do not exist in the realm of the
external, physical world...
~ That the only answer to any form of “attack” can and must be that of love, brotherhood, forgiveness, compassion and peace…
~ That God is in the midst of everything…and is in All…
~ That the Light of Spirit, is in All of Us…and it is our job to call that Light forth…
~ That we are the Voices, Hands and Hearts of the Creator, and as such we are our Brother and Sister's Keeper...
~ That fear, separateness, anger and hate cannot continue to rule our
lives and hearts if we are to evolve to a world and a people, where even
the possibility of attack of any kind are non-existent…
And in
reflection on this day, for me, the words of St. Francis are as
relevant and important now, as they were centuries ago when he first
penned them…I offer them up as my prayers in “Remembrance of 9/11/2001”
and the lessons learned, that those lives lost will forevermore be a
testament to the establishment of a New Planetary Reality ruled by the
tenets of Peace, Compassion and Love and not the fuel for the
continuance of a world steeped in fear, hatred, greed senseless violence
and pain...
“Lord make me an instrument of thy Peace…
Where there is hatred…let me sow Love…
Where there is injury…pardon…
Where there is doubt…faith…
Where there is despair…hope…
Where there is darkness…light…
And where there is sadness…joy…
O Divine Master…
Grant that I may not so much seek
To be consoled…as to console…
To be understood…as to understand…
To be loved…as to love…
For it is in giving that we receive…
And it is in pardoning that we are pardoned…
It is time, to turn our swords into plowshares and reach across the
oceans of space and time to touch our brothers and sisters hands with
the unconditional love that Spirit has bestowed upon us all..and to
finally fully understand that we are All truly One!
