Turn to a Higher Power
“I
feel the presence of a higher power. I believe that what you give is
what you get. It's universal law. I believe in the power of prayer
and of words. I've learned that when you predict that negative things
will happen, they do.”
Alicia
Keys
This
quote from Alicia Keys incites mental gymnastics in me. I want to
believe that we get exactly what we give (karma), but then I remember
the millions of kids living in refugee camps, and the two-hundred
seventy-some girls snatched from their school buses three weeks ago.
I think of that ferry full of Korean high school students sent to
the bottom of the ocean. And, I wonder what they could possibly have
done in their short lives to warrant such a fate. The answer is, nothing.
I
believe in the power of prayer and of words—look at Malala, the
girl who was shot in the face by the Taliban, who not only survived
but became a spokesperson for oppressed girls everywhere. I do
believe that words matter; that they have the power to change minds
and move people. We have only to listen to Martin Luther King Jr.'s
“I Have A Dream” speech to know that one person's words can turn
the tide of history.
And
I do believe that when we wake up in a bad mood, or a good mood, we
bring that energy into the day and it colors everything we do and how
we see the world. But life is not simple give and take. There are
many shades of gray, and many layers of depth. Perhaps we should hold
open the idea of “not knowing;” and wait for meaning to arise.
Perhaps bad things happen to give us the opportunity to help. Perhaps
there is no meaning to be found in tragedy except for our own
response to it. These are questions for a higher power. Thank God I
have one.
In
the Spirit,
Jane
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