Saying "yes"

“Let the first act of every morning be to make the following resolve for the day:

- I shall not fear anyone on Earth.

- I shall fear only God.

- I shall not bear ill will toward anyone.

- I shall not submit to injustice from anyone.

- I shall conquer untruth by truth. And in resisting untruth, I shall put up with all suffering.”

 Mahatma Gandhi

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I see pictures of children cowering

Shivering under space blankets in a warehouse

I see pictures of mothers and children running

Terror etched in their faces

As tear gas billows and roils

I see a young black man, face down on the street

Gunned down by the police

Although unarmed

I see people with wealth and power and privilege

Plotting to grasp even more

By cutting services for the vulnerable in our midst

I see preachers celebrating the ascendance of evil

Shouting praise for one who violates the way of the God

They pretend to serve

I hear lie after lie after lie

Delivered with a smirk

And accepted as truth

What can I do?

What can any of us do?

I can be a sacred child

I can live out my divine DNA

Having embraced LOVE

Having experienced that reality we call God

I shall strive

To live not in fear

To do no harm

To insist on justice

To conquer “conquer untruth by truth”

No matter what it costs

I have no illusion that I will always be right

I am not foolish enough to deny my own limitations and failings

I will be wrong at times

Vulnerable at times

Probably an asshole at times

But I will do what I can

To follow the way of Christ

And carry the sacred in my flesh

In my words

In my deeds

I can “Yes” to God

Yes, I can be awake to the sacred which is woven into my being

Yes, I can embrace the teaching of a man named Jesus

Yes, I can pray

Yes, I can give

Yes, I can listen

I can do this

Each and every day