The Man in the Mirror

This is where God comes in.

Just five years ago, I couldn’t even say the word God because I had no idea what to believe; I was never exposed. My spiritual journey over the last four years has opened my eyes to so much I wouldn’t have imagined to be real. The explanation of who we are and why we incarnate as humans has come to and through me organically, without ever attending a church service. Knowing from this space what brings people together, it boggles my mind to see us so actively and intentionally destroying critical life relationships. Many of them will not be able to bounce back after so much venom has been spewed. We can still stop the madness before more damage is done. We have to open our eyes.

If you believe in God or know there is something so much bigger than yourself, it’s time to get connected to that space. Teachings in the Bible are very clear, telling us we should love our neighbor and, of course, never judge or cast stones. How has everyone forgotten such a simple idea that has kept us strong and together? We are all connected. We are all one. What you do to someone else, you do to yourself. When you judge someone else, you are judging yourself. Somewhere along the line, everyone of us adopted some crazy belief system that has triggered this incredibly dividing experience.

Here’s what I don’t understand. There are so many people outwardly screaming, pointing and waving signs at the other side. Both sides are contaminating each other with vile comments and saying hateful things to tear each other down. If any one of you fitting this description is a follower of God, how can you do this?

Trying to create a metaphor that would make sense, imagine you are skiing behind a little ski boat, the water in the middle is very calm. The water to the right and left is very turbulent. The more angry you get, the more hatred you spew at your friends, family and neighbors, the bigger your boat is going to get. The harder it is going to be to find any harmony or ability to dig yourself out of the hole you are digging.

This is what is happening to us right now. We have dug our feet into our position and we are not willing to bend, even slightly, for someone we love. What once was the calm waters of the wake has split and gone to the opposing sides. The turbulent waters on both sides are creating this madness.

We need to get back to God and we must move fast. For just one moment, allow yourself to completely surrender your trust and faith to the one you’ve spent your life worshipping. Has God ever let you down?

For any of you on the hard right or left of the wake, you’ve stopped listening. You’ve stopped loving as you know you are to do. You are allowing something so minuscule as having a needle put in your arm be the thing that will determine the strength of any of your relationships moving forward. Is all of this madness really worth such a sacrifice?

Without having to know why, other than you trust the power you have always trusted, you must come back to God. Once we re-member that God and love comes first, you should easily be able to take a few steps back to the smooth waters in the middle. Even if you have to believe it is just a temporary position, do it anyway. Just think of it as a break or a time out to get your blood pressure back down to normal.

Look back in the history books at events such as this that you would never have imagined being involved with. You see yourself as that peaceful middleman wondering how anybody can be so extreme. And then perhaps for a moment, you will have a flash that that is you that you are witnessing. You are now the problem.

For just a minute, go back to the wake, and think about what God might want you to do. Once you step back into that place of allowing and surrender and let go of the anger and hatred for just a few minutes, you will begin to heal.

You need to realize that we are being tried and tested, and you are one of the people Creating the destruction. You know darn good and well that the people in the middle, the calm waters between, we aren’t doing this. We are watching you beat each other up and kill each other when you know how wrong it is.

If we step out of the rough water onto the smooth wake in the middle, we will once again find love and compassion for one another that will put an end to this monster we keep feeding. For many of us, this will be the biggest test of humanity we will experience in our lifetime.

Those of you firmly planted with your fist waving at the other side – you are the problem. Look in a mirror and do the math. The only way this madness will end is when we make steps to meet each other in the middle, stop pointing fingers and remember brotherly love. Remember the way you felt on 9/12 for one moment and remember what that feels like.