James M. Newton says:
I lost spirituality in Viet Nam. It walked away in a communion
dress. Her hair covering half her face like Veronica Lake. I was on this
Christian mission at the orphanage when she walked, ghost like, out of the
chapel. The cutest little five or six year old Vietnamese girl with half
a face.
Who will sit with the children
and explain to them that
Some Hawks make a living
From eating the young ones
Of the crows and the pigeons
When they are a little older
What will we tell them of the children
At Hiroshima, Dresden or Auschwitz;
Of the twin towers and of our own war.
How old will they have to be
To learn about Collateral Damage:
The child in the scope of my psyche
Who is part of the price of our “freedom.”
We may fail at many things by winning,
But let’s succeed at sitting with our children.
Peace can come from a broader point of view.
Help us remember that the jerk who cut us off in traffic last night is a
single mother who worked nine hours that day and is rushing home to cook
dinner, help with homework, do the laundry and spend a few precious moments
with her children.
Help us to remember that the pierced, tattooed, disinterested young man who
can't make change correctly is a worried 19-year-old college student, balancing
his apprehension over final exams with his fear of not getting his student
loans for next semester.
Remind us, that the scary looking bum, begging for money in the same spot
every day (who really ought to get a job!) is a slave to addictions that
we can only imagine in our worst nightmares.
Help us to remember that the old couple walking annoyingly slow through the
store aisles and blocking our shopping progress are savoring this moment,
knowing that, based on the biopsy report she got back last week, this will
be the last year that they go shopping together.
Every person is doing what they believe is right for them... if not
for us. Understanding what they need, and helping them get it without hurting
others is the road to Peace.
Lalo replies:
It actually happend that I was angered, once, by a guy who drove near us,
my two kids and I, as we walked in a Boneys parking lot, at a reckles speed.
I have been known to slap cars with my open hand when this happend but I
didn't, just imagined it. We walked hastily into Boneys I ignored the negative
energy, or tiried to. Coincidently, I noticed a few seconds behind me the
the reckless driver and his very pregnant wife, headed for the bathroom.
From the scared look on their faces, and having been there more than once,
I knew that her water bag had probably just burst. Knowing this calmed me
down quicly.
I imagine one of the reasons people cling to their hates so stubbornly is
because they sense, once hate is gone, they will be forced to deal with pain.
~ James Baldwin
