Our thought process is an incredible machine that if it could be built I can imagine all the lights and monitors and with only one switch that turns it all on or off. It takes only one simple thing to set off a series of thoughts and it can go in many directions but we have to consider what will fuel it.
When you think about Peace what are the images you have in your head? Some of us might think about our childhood or a summer vacation that was a week-long but was so much fun it felt like a whole month. But do we ever find a Peaceful image of ourselves doing something for someone else? I know church groups will do a week of service every so often or colleges will do a drive for coats during the cold months. I’m not referring to those moments I’m talking about your daily life when you come out of the subway and find yourself with someone begging for food or money. Now that may not seem a Peaceful moment to anyone but the thought you have right there will determine how you will feel about someone or something. I sometimes sit and watch people when I’m out and about observing how people react to people asking for money or food. Most women will grab a hold of their purses tighter and men usually pull on their suit jacket or coat away from the individual. I’m not a saint in all of this I have done the same in the past.
Afterwards I always get upset with myself for the reaction and I promise myself not to react that way again and that’s the image and memory I have of that interaction. So now when I do come across someone begging for money or food that feeling kicks in and I find Peace with myself because I was able to correct a poor reaction I used to have. I will respond to their request or return the God Bless you to them and most importantly I did not disregard them. Does that Peace transfer to the person begging for food or money? Well some of you may never find out if you never leave the comfort of your home and get on the streets!
I’ll admit that sometimes the people that are begging for food or money are not the best smelling and it shouldn’t be expected since they don’t have money for food or shelter so why do we get bothered by it? Would it be right to get upset that a burger joint doesn’t have a lobster option for dinner? Of course not so why do we react that way? Is it more of a projection of our own feelings about how we really view ourselves? Are we disgusted with ourselves for allowing others to suffer in that way? I’ve seen people twist their faces in disgust when passing a homeless person and half a block away be very welcoming of someone with a Green Peace shirt on asking for help.
Some years ago there was a pastor on the West Side of Chicago that ran a shelter for men out of the church he had. If you wanted to stay there you had to follow some rules like attend Bible class, go to the nightly service, clean around the church and shelter, basic things like that which is fine. The one rule to really stay in the shelter was that one had to go out on the street with a box of candy to collect funds for the church. The pastor would go to Sam’s club and buy the candy in bulk and send the men out every morning to collect the funds on the streets of Chicago. What most people didn’t know was that they were required to sell each candy before coming back to the shelter otherwise they were not allowed back into the shelter. At some point the news got wind of it and reported the story which the pastor denied but as of today that shelter is no longer on the West Side.
There are different ways to view all of this and this posting can go on almost forever just about this one subject but I want to take you back to the image of Peace.
Do I need to go into a church or any Holy Temple and find it there?
Do I need to read the Bible or any Holy Scripture to find it there?
Do I need to tell people that “Jesus loves you” to find that Peace?
Why can’t we find that Peace within the faces of each other?
We spend so much time going in circles about what others may think of us, what we’re wearing, how we can brag about the money we “have,” about how we have traveled the world, who we know, or how “holy” we are that we lose the simplicity of Peace.
When people emerge from the subway everyone is usually looking up and it’s almost as if they were on their way to a new beginning in their lives and the opportunity for it is waiting at the top. Right at the top standing there with their hand extended or a cup in their hand is a human being asking for help from other human beings. “Extra change…got some change you can spare…God bless you” Is a usual quick speech and we brush past them not giving them the respect of eye contact or acknowledgment but we give them a space in our memory of what to avoid. We make it to work and already stressed that you had to pass that person to get to work your boss charges past you without a ‘Hello good morning’ and starts barking at you. How does it feel to get brushed off like that? Not a good feeling I’m sure of it so what are YOU willing to do to change that? Elect a politician to bring the change you have the power to do on a daily basis?
My Sister, Monica, is someone that has had to deal with many things in her life. Growing up as a first generation Latina in this country during the 1970’s and 1980’s was a challenge I’m sure let alone being the oldest. I admire her because regardless of what she has had to deal with she keeps her head up because she holds an image of our grandmothers that are resting now, in her heart. Strong women that had to deal with a lot of issues themselves and she finds Peace in their images. What she may not know, but she will now once she reads this, is that when I think about family and the Peace I find in it I see her smiling face. My parents are still alive and I love them dearly but my Sister and I have a great relationship and her smile makes me smile and her laughter makes me laugh even harder. I do love my Sister with all my heart and I find Peace in that…she may not be Jesus Himself but she brings a Peace to me that is unique and fulfilling. That is one of my thoughts of Peace and there are many others that are just as close or closer but I felt this one now as I’m writing this posting on her dining room table.
We can’t miss opportunities to create images of Peace for ourselves or for others and when we carry titles within society, religious organizations, companies, and within our families we HAVE to come through with promises we have made. Any time we say we will do something and back out of it because it seems complicated or too much trouble we created an image of dislike for those involved. Then the battle to remove that image is a struggle because we will associate that action with that image for a long time and refer to it anytime we have a similar event. Every day that we choose to not follow through with our titles and pledges we have made for ourselves we hurt and disregard where people are at in their lives. I understand that we all have our roles to play and I champion that but when that role is critical to the function of other things and you place a break on it then you have created the biggest disservice to your name and title if you hold one.
All the while there’s someone out there with their hand extended for help…
Peace/AMOR
Gerardo
No comments:
Post a Comment