Is there any hope for our world?

QUESTION:

In my travels lately, no matter where I was, an individual would approach me and ask "Is there any hope for our world?" This is not the usual question I attempt to answer in this column, yet it is valid one and certainly worth a try. Here goes.

ANSWER:

People are really concerned now about the economy, gas, food, weather changes....the list is long. And they are frightened. I've seen this before, different faces but the same fear....before Pearl Harbor and after. Hitler and his massive armies goosestepping across the screen of movie theaters - we were always shown the latest news before the cartoons and feature shows. Air raid drills, block wardens knocking on doors to make certain no one had a light or fire going, some food items and bedsheets rationed, gas almost impossible to come by, Victory Gardens and grocery stores that were part canning kitchens - where you brought in the food from your garden, canned it, and then paid for the tin you used with each can as you checked out the other items you wanted to purchase. And those huge gold star decals. You got one if someone in your household died in the war effort. You would then stick it on your front window so people would know of your loss and of your willingness to help your country. Hobos knocking on your door for food. Few if any homes for orphans and the old.

I didn't grow up like most of you did. I grew up surrounded by people determined to make the best of it, who, if one solution didn't work, then they would find another one that would. There was no such thing as being stuck or paralized with fear or without hope. The world then was far more terrifying than the world today, with less opportunity to change anything. So many people died or were homeless or went without food. I cannot recall a single morning when I did not have to stop my tears and quiet my shudders just to walk inside the door to my classroom at school.


That same overwhelming sense of hopelessness is back. And it's global, just like it was before. But this time I see much promise and endless opportunities to reframe and redesign and restructure our lives, our businesses, our communities. We have a chance now, as the world we once knew crumbles around us, to build anew and do it better than ever, all of us. In fact, I have never seen a time in my life when there were so many ideas and so much talent - ready to do the job - and capable of doing it. With or without our governments, our corporate bosses, our politicians, we the people are waking up and taking charge. We are taking our country back. We are activating our creativity and inventiveness. We are reclaiming our own soul and the right to worship as we feel led. There's a car now that runs on compressed air - that's it, air! And there are millions upon millions of people who have been touched by a light not of this earth - near-death experiencers, spiritual experiencers, who inspire all of us to rethink what we once thought was true.

To the people who have been asking me "Is there any hope for our world?" my simple but resounding YES rolls off the tongue of more people than I can count. I stand in good company. And I am grateful. PMH

ADDITIONAL OFFERING:

Each morning as part of my prayer time, I read from various types of inspirational literature. This morning I came across the little known fact about the Bible and that section we call "The Book of Psalms."

I am quoting now from Science of Mind Magazine, June, 2008, page 44:

"As an aside, I mentioned to her the frequency with which the word 'selah' is used in the psalms; 'selah' means rest, pause, silence. The psalms were written as musical pieces and the word 'selah' reminds the musician to rest at certain intervals in the scripture. I think 'selah' offers us a reminder that after we have done our prayer work and spiritual activity regarding a situation, circumstance, person, place of thing, we must rest. The simple act of resting can be difficult if we are tossing and turning with fear, indecision, and uncertainty due to our lack of faith or patience. Sometimes our highest and best is found by simply lying down in green pastures. So it is with the infinite God presence. Rest in the love, rest in the prediction, and rest in the promise that God is the same yesterday, today, and forever."

Rest. Written as an interval in music.

Rest. Used as a way to steady the power of prayer.

Rest. That which unites body and soul.


Blessings to all, PMH