09/20/2026
Love your neighbor as your Self,
This is a struggle,
Even in the best of times.
We are living in the worst!
We see some others as enemies,
Then commune in gathering places,
By ourselves in nature,
Alone in silence,
In many different ways.
We are at Peace.
Then the strifes we have,
In the hours and days that pass,
(Sometimes even in the seconds),
We separate ourselves,
From those peaceful feelings,
Lost, out of tune,
With the harmony,
Deep within our souls.
We have tools to make changes,
To bring ourselves back,
Yet we forget, or don’t bother,
To use them,
Overcome with emotions,
Which feed our Dark Shadows,
Of despair.
Our hearts break.
Then somewhere,
Somehow,
Something happens.
A smile or word from a stranger,
A line from a show,
An affirmation on line,
Seeing the playfulness of children,
People hugging their pets,
Or a myriad of other miraculous possibilities:
Makes us stop and pause,
Take in a deep breath,
And we feel who we really are,
Deep down inside,
Beyond the pain,
Beyond the doubt,
Beyond what we think is hate.
In that moment,
We feel Peace,
Not only for ourselves,
But for all of creation.
Thankful for the air we breathe,
The beauty in nature,
Our uplifting songs,
The closeness of friends,
Our families,
Our blessings.
For every other person,
No matter who they are,
No matter what they think,
We see a world of Light,
Love,
And Peace.
We finally,
Understand the Word,
So easy to say,
So hard to understand,
So simple,
So complex.
That word is:
G
R
A
C
E
!!!
