Friday, September 18, 2009

Dearest God,

What happens in the human mind when persons decide to rob, maim or kill? What triggers destructive behavior?

As I read about greed and corruption among our nation's politicians, business leaders and industry giants, I wonder what it is that makes people literally rape their people of their pensions, their ability to make a living and their feelings of pride and self confidence? What lurks inside us that blocks the soul of doing good rather than evil?

What really boggles my mind is the decision of people to vote for persons whose records are filled with evil doing. What are we doing? What counts as good moral living today? What happens to a society who forgets to do good?

Of course for every question I ask of our society, I must ask of myself. What causes me to do evil rather than good? What causes me to harbor resentment against another where I think unkindly thoughts about a sister or brother human? What seethes inside me to want to cause harm to someone else in attitude, word or action?

These last few mornings I have been praying for prisoners, gangs, greedy corrupters, those persons who prey on others, whose full intent is to bring deadly harm to unsuspecting members of the planet. I prayed this morning for a broken humanity.

I believe every image of harm in the world is yet another call to soften the edges of my own heart, to let go of disappointments, to stretch my mind where judgement can finally fizzle and disappear, where peace and harmony become the goal. I have to be exceedingly careful when I blame others because I set myself up as supreme judge, making myself superior to those around me. Do I really want to do that? What kind of society would I make if I were judge and jury?

Massage my
heart, mind
and soul,
O God,
I pray.
Make me
more like you.
Take away
all feelings
of ill will,
judgement and blame.
Make me
more like you.
Give me
a soft heart,
a loving spirit,
a good attitude
a desire
to love more
and judge less.
You are
the only power
and force
that can
remould, reshape
this lump
of clay.

Love, Andrea