“To some people, surrender may have negative connotations, implying defeat, giving up, failing to rise to the challenges of life, becoming lethargic, and so on. True surrender, however, is something entirely different. It does not mean to passively put up with whatever situation you find yourself in and to do nothing about it. Nor does it mean to cease making plans or initiating positive action. Surrender is the simple but profound wisdom of yielding to rather than opposing the flow of life. The only place where you can experience the flow of life is Now, so surrender is to accept the present moment unconditionally and without reservation.”
– Eckhart Tolle, The Power of Now
Dear Family and Friends,
Unfortunately, the phrase “Peace in the Middle East” has been a paradoxical statement for as long as memory serves us. Rev Sunshine talked last week about being comfortable with the uncomfortable. Does this mean that we as a collective should be comfortable with the lives lost, chaos, and bloodshed that war brings? As it stands, we have another war in the Middle East that arose last Saturday. The above-referenced quote tells us to surrender to the moment. As hard as that can be, it does allow us to observe the cruelty and devastation that we human beings can do to one another. So, while allowing our eyes to bear witness and ears to hear the unthinkable, our prayer is repeated in our heads over and over. The prayer is for Peace; for the realization of Oneness, for the realization that your neighbor is your brother and sister and that we treat them with love and respect, the prayer is for forgiveness for all things said and done out of ignorance; the prayer is for Israel, the prayer is for Hamas, the prayer is for Russia, the Ukraine, all the other countries, or cities that are experiencing discord. The prayer is for ourselves and the United States. We can look and learn how to live from our principles of Oneness, Love, and Forgiveness before we all find ourselves coming to blows with our neighbors simply because we have forgotten who we truly are. We watch, listen, and pray for ourselves to be Peace and love and model it to those who may need the reminder. Please join us in prayer.