I hold up to myself Martin Luther King, Jr.’s quote of a Moroccan proverb, “He who has nothing to die for, has nothing to live for.”  I may not seek out ways of dying to help my fellow man, however, I do feel deeply for casualties of war, droughts, famine, poverty, discrimination by race, color, ethnic origin, and sexual orientation, and corporate greed to name some of my concerns.  I do not carry my depth of feelings to the level of the character of “May” in Sue Monk’s book, THE SECRET LIFE OF BEES, or Big John in the movie, THE GREEN MILE, but I identify with some aspects of these characters.

I am often drawn to Margaret Mead’s message that  “a small group of thoughtful people could change the world, it’s the only thing that ever has.”  She “measures success in terms of the contributions an individual makes to her fellow human beings:”

Let’s face it, living a life of enjoyment, well being and contentment, i.e. happiness may be easier than suiting up and showing up.  Instead  I choose to make the efforts to stand for a cause; search for and purchase a “made in America” product, each time I write or call my government representatives, I am acting, as the Rev. Dr. Joseph E. Lowery says, “A chaplain for the common good.”  In silence and with deep awareness each time,  I am striving to make my contributions to the common good of my fellow beings on this earth walk.  I pray that God, or Love, or Spirit be present through me NOW and HERE and that with each breath I take, I will feed my “fire within” toward transformation of me and my world to be aware and to love deeply.

Amen.