I feel like I have
reached an important milestone as a parent. The other night my
six-year-old daughter mentioned that her cousin was going to leave for
Army boot camp. She then stated how grateful she was that there weren’t
any wars or fighting going on anywhere. My heart sank. I knew it was
time for my
sweet and innocent daughter to learn the truth.
As a parent, I have
made many conscious choices to isolate my daughter from the realities of
the outside world. I have sheltered her from watching TV news and
deliberately avoided having conversations in front of her that might
expose her to the violence and injustices that happen each day in our ever
spinning planet.
I have consciously
chosen topics that I thought would empower her. We’ve talked about being
good stewards of our planet by recycling and purchasing organic products.
We’ve talked about being compassionate and loving towards other people,
and we’ve talked about the power of love and prayer. I guess I always knew
that there would be a day where she would have to learn the truth about
the “dark side” of human behavior and to learn that after millions of
years, we are still hurting and killing each other. And, for a species
capable of incredible feats of kindness, we are also capable of horrific
acts of violence as well.
So I had to lovingly
tell my daughter that we are at war. Not surprisingly, she was stunned.
She then asked me what we were fighting about. To keep things as simple as
I could in hopes that I could divert this conversation, I told her we were
fighting about oil. With childlike quickness and matter of fact tone, she
stated, “Momma, I have a solution. Why don’t we just share the oil? That
way we wouldn’t have to fight?”
I told her that was a
brilliant idea and hoped that if I could be “light” about it, that she
would not get too upset, or sink into a fearful place.
You see, I believe that
the only solution for war is love.
I know that may seem
a bit simplistic, but I think it’s the only real chance we’ve got.
It is my deepest
prayer, that if enough of us can radiate love and compassion, that
somehow, someway, we can start to change the way we relate to one another
and perhaps some day, there will be no need for war.
Gandhi said, “Be the
change you want to see in the world.” I want to see people living in
peace, loving and respecting one another. To be the change I want to see,
I choose love. I choose to do my best to love myself and in turn to share
my love with others. I choose to do my best to come from a place of love
in all that I do and to allow love to inspire me into action.
Rather than focus on
what I don’t want, I focus on what I do want. I want a world where
children and women are honored, respected, loved and seen. I want a world
where people are empowered and treated with fairness and cooperation, and
compromise is the norm. I intend to focus my thoughts on love and peace
and to do my best to help my daughter to do the same.
Before going to bed we
will pray for world peace, just as I did as a little girl. And perhaps
somewhere in the world, someone will know that we are thinking of them
with love in our hearts and a belief that we can indeed make a difference.
What is your deepest
prayer for the world? How can you intend for that prayer to become a
reality?
