“You will see in the world what you carry in your heart.”
From Project Happiness
(Sunrise November 22, by me)
It’s thanks giving time. The time of year when we give thought to blessings in our lives and find a way to express gratitude. We have, mostly, as a nation, found a way to still make time in our over important and busy lives to come together as family and friends and celebrate what we cherish.
This Thankgiving I find my heart troubled by a nation of people at odds with each other. There is so much that is good and positive in our nation. There is also anger and violence, poverty, hunger, mental illness, homelessness…… We are not a perfect nation by any means. Somewhere along the way I feel we have lost something…empathy, compassion. Not everyone, but some. The media, in all it’s forms, has discovered it is more profitable and generates greater ratings to drown us in fear and worry, violence and hate.
I want something different for myself, the nation and the world.
There is an organization called Project Happiness that recently posted this quote on Facebook:
“You will see in the world what you carry in your heart.”
This is my personal work for this Thanksgiving. To understand that how I view the world, people, events, experiences, comes from what I carry in my heart.
If I carry worry, fear, distrust, anger, resentment, that is how I see the world. If I carry hope, compassion, empathy, tolerance, understanding, then that becomes the lens through which I see the world. I am committing to the second choice. It means I have to be open, I have to be informed, I have to be honest and truthful, I have to put myself in the other person’s shoes even if I don’t want to. It means I have to think of others, their needs, their pain and hurt and to accept those things as true, as I know my own hurt and pain to be true for me.
“Our job is to love others without stopping to inquire whether or not they are worthy.
That is not our business and, in fact, it is nobody’s business.
What we are asked to do is to love,
and this love itself will render both ourselves and our neighbors worthy.”
Thomas Merton
I have to honor others and diversity. I have to understand there are many sides to every story, and sometimes the truth does not come easily nor is it easy to accept. I have to work for compromise. I have to forgive and ask to be forgiven. I have to listen, to hear, to understand. I have to say no to anger and violence. I have to say no to injustice and inequity. I have to be loving. I have to practice non-violence.
I choose to see the world as fragile and to be respectful of her and to foster stewardship of her well being.
I choose to walk without fear of other people. I choose to look people in the eye and greet them. I choose to carry hope, compassion, empathy and tolerance as I walk. I choose to be open.
I choose to hold my hand out in support, comfort, sincerity and love.
This Thanksgiving, as you gather with friends and family, I challenge you to be aware of what you are carrying in your heart and what lens it creates for your vision and interpretation of the world, events, people and experiences. “You will see in the world what you carry in your heart.”
“I offer you Peace. I offer you Love. I offer you Friendship. I see your Beauty. I hear your need. I feel your feelings. My wisdom flows from the Highest Source. I salute that Source in You. Let’s work together for unity and love.”
~Gandhi
http://projecthappiness.org/about-us/
http://projecthappiness.org/film/