Music For The Stars!
Alan Cohen author of, ” Chicken Soup For The Soul,” and other inspirational books said that in his work, “Lifestyles Of The Rich In Spirit.”
A prominent political figure from a Muslin nation visited one our University recently to speak and answer questions, and I watched the president of that institution challenge him and attack him verbally. There was no peace in the words he used to describe his guest, he had his mind made up that this man represented the enemy and a war of words was in order. It was clear to anybody at all that this man and his country were works of the devil and it was our duty to eliminate him first by dehumanizing him, and then by threats of war.
The guest answered the questions as optimum he might ; he knew that the majority of the audiences would not accept his words, but he tried to explain his country’s position on a few topics that struck fear in the hearts of Americans; but our thoughts had already established that this man was a person to hate. He on the other hand, stood his ground firmly and explained his position as clear ly as he might given the atmosphere of emotions that surrounded him. He did not claim to hate or want to destroy us, he said he wanted to be our friend; he said that his religion was a peaceful one and that his country wanted to live by their beliefs in the absence of interference from other nations. He saw the conflict in Iraq as a senseless attempt to control something that was not under our control; it had been in existence for centuries before we were born as a country and always found a way to resolve its own issues. In the mist of all the anger and resentment he found himself in, he maintain his composure and expressed his emotions about how we had created the situations we found ourselves involved in, and that we were the ones that are forcing other nations to conform unconditionally.
The real issue is not about this man and his country; it’s about each one of us. As Alan said, we must find the peace in our hearts in order to repair our separation. If we are motivated by fear, anger, and hatred, that’s what we will manifest; the face of this man was that manifestation.
We do not practice what we preach in church each Sunday, we do not follow the teachings of Christ if we attack and fight in order to control. Destroying never brings repair ing, but forgiveness does. Through all the years of fighting we still do not get the concept of unity; we still put ourselves up on a higher plane of existence; we are disconnected from our source and do little but fight in order to reconnect; years of conditioning has made us what we are, a group of wanderers looking for redemption in all the wrong ways. It is us against everything else, when in fact there is little else; what we see is a mirror, there for us to remember who we really are.
Alan said something else in his book, ” The most serious contribution you and I might make toward world peace is to be peaceful ourselves, to give peacefulness to those whose lives we touch daily, and to forgive ourselves for our errors, to the point at which we love ourselves no matter what we have ever done.”
Now is the time for that forgiveness; now is the time to reunite within myself, to be the spirit that expresses the love that fills my heart. I might vary and will vary in order to be at peace; I ask for advocate from my source and it’s given; I ask for love to fill my body and it’s given; I ask to share that love with all life and it’s given.