" All the flowers of all the tomorrows
are in the seeds of today "
The words above are from an an old Indian
saying which, if you think about it, is quite profound and well worth taking
the time to consider carefully. Everything we do today affects what will
happen tomorrow. Think about it. We need to recognize this now more than
at any time in a great many years. Failure to do so surely guarantees that
we will continue on this headlong rush to unrest, hatred, and violence
which we seem determined to meet head on.
Are we so blind and uncaring that we cannot
see this ? Or have we become so self involved that we don't see that
we are destroying our childrens' future ? And why ? Because we have allowed
fear to control our lives and have allowed those who would
encourage that mindset the freedom to do as they will.
The fact they have used this fear
to advance their agenda and blaspheme everything our countries have
stood for historically and in doing so, increased
the dangers we face a thousandfold has yet to permeate the consciousness
of many but there are hopeful signs finally that we are waking up.
I can only pray it is not too late.
In the immediate aftermath of 9/11,
I wrote the following words ...
" It would compound the crime if we
should visit the same on helpless people. And it would be another victory
for the terrorists. In the best of worlds, the killers who murdered so
many will be hounded to the end of the Earth, brought before justice and
tried for crimes against humanity - that is how justice works in
our democracy. There is no collective guilt. To descend to the terrorists'
level would grossly demean the memories of so many American victims,
legitimize the terrorists' barbarity, and encourage more such carnage.
Hatred is corrosive; it saps the spirit
and warps the mind. Anger, as Bismarck famously put it, is a poor adviser.
The rhetoric of war and the discourse of rage contribute little to a
rigorous reflection on how to protect the values of our civilization which
is under attack. Allowing the killers to create a global version of Jerusalem
or Belfast would be to confirm their vision, not defeat it."
Not in my wildest fantasies did I expect
we would behave as we have done. We have stood by as those holding
the reins of power have manipulated and played on the fears of their people
to commit us to a path of death and destruction, abandoning all principles
and standards we claimed to hold dear, as they have waged war in
a manner as repugnant as that of any barbarian nation in history.
And with no end in sight. Our enemies have multiplied, we have lost
the respect of the world community, our young warriors are dying
or being maimed for life, and we shall one day answer for the deaths of
a multitude of innocent women and children. Our people are divided
as never before with little hope of reconciliation in sight.The greatest
tragedy perhaps may be that we have allowed the barbarians to win. For
no matter what the outcome is of the conflicts now raging, they have won.
We have become their mirror image.
The parable below, perhaps
says it best.
An old Cherokee is teaching his grandson
about life. "A fight is going on inside me," he said to the boy."It is
a terrible fight and it is between two wolves.
One is evil - he is anger, envy, sorrow,
regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies,
false pride, superiority, fear, and ego."
He continued, "The other is good - he is
joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy,
generosity, truth, compassion, and faith.
The same fight is going on inside you
- and inside every other person, too."
The grandson thought about it for a minute
and then asked his grandfather,
"Which wolf will win?"
The old Cherokee simply replied, "The one
you feed."
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MIDI " Just a Closer Walk
with Thee " courtesy of Les Gorven
NOTE: I am not the
author of the parable above.
The author is unknown
March 16th 2006
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