women of a certain age are like sunflowers; they know how to turn their faces to the sun.

Monday, March 29, 2010

I Believe

"Walk blindly to the light and reach out for his hand
Don't ask any questions and don't try to understand
Open up your mind and then open up your heart
And you will see that you and me aren't very far apart

'Cause I believe that love is the answer
I believe that love will find the way"

_ Blessed Union of Souls

First, before I forget, thank you to everyone who has left supportive messages here, in my email, and on Ravelry. They were not necessary, but they were much appreciated none the less.

And NO, I will NOT believe my own press - LOL - that way lies a swelled head and a false sense of worth.

I will however tuck the love within my breast pocket close to my heart, a little something extra to warm my soul when I'm feeling low. You are an amazing group.

I have thought a lot about the events that transpired this weekend and realized my part in the whole mess: I should not have gotten upset; I regret that.

I also erred in leaving the arena to fill up with people taking sides. Had I realized that was happening, I would have tried to head things off at the pass, before things were said on both sides that hurt.

It is all too easy to define ourselves by the "other", by what we are NOT. "Well, at least I'm not doing what SHE is doing"... Or "I would never"... Or even " How dare THEY?"...

This kind of divisive thinking leads to a whole lot of unhappiness in our world. And it is unnecessary, in my opinion. US vs. THEM is no way to go through life.

I don't believe anyone is evil. I don't believe demonizing helps us in any way, shape or form. It leads us to easy targets instead of hard choices.

So, what DO I believe?

I believe every person carries the light of God within them from birth. When I attack another of God's children, I turn my back on that light and disrespect not only the person, but myself as well. We are better than that.

I believe if we only do what cannot fail, we miss the best of what we have to offer the world. We must not run or hide or hang our heads if we are less than 100% successful in everything we do. We have so much potential in our hearts & souls and the world needs every blessed one of us.

I believe we should reach high. That way, when we come up short, which we usually do, we are still above the mediocrity so much of our world wallows in.

I believe we are still learning and evolving. We may not be what we will yet become, but, by God, we are not what we once were. And that is progress of the best kind. Whether it is a new knitting stitch or a new way of seeing the world, no one has all the answers. To each of us is given a piece of the puzzle; we must work together to make a harmonious whole.

I believe only she who is without fault can cast the stones. Don't know about you, but that definitely leaves me out of the rock throwing business.

I believe in the communion of saints, and by that I do not mean those marble statues in church. I mean us. Quakers are often accused of eliminating the clergy. We have not. We have eliminated the lay person. All of us are saints. All of us carry God within.

I believe we can accomplish more by working together, than we can by pulling apart.

I believe it is better to build up than to tear down.

I believe girls like Legolas, but women prefer Aragorn ( oops - wait a minute - I digress - my bad!)

I believe in purposeful living. We are not just marking time. We are here for a reason. Our lives matter. They mean something.

I believe it is the responsibility of each individual to discover for themselves what that purpose is.

I believe my purpose is to love and support those I come into contact with on a day to day basis, whether that individual is a member of my family, an unhappy customer, or the man selling brooms outside the downtown post office door.

I believe, when we fall, we should pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and not waste time in moaning about it; we must learn from it, and go on about our business, which is, to paraphrase the Ghost of Christmas Present, "[hu]mankind."

I believe forgiveness is the hardest challenge we face in life, and the one that builds the most character.

I believe in the power of love to overcome death, war, pestilence, anger, sloth, selfishness, petty argument, bigotry, and all the other ills which our world is heir to.

I believe that even as we wind our way to the end of our journeys , we plant the seeds for a new beginning.

That is what I believe. What about you?






19 comments:

Lorien said...

AMEN!

Knittinnurse said...

Well said.

Mitchypoo said...

I'm so proud of you! Wonderful enlightening attitude.

Cathie Jones said...

You're so smart! ♥

littlelib said...

fantastic post sweets

Anonymous said...

Hear,Hear!! These are things we must remind ourselves of and then practice on a regular basis, Thank you.

teabird said...

omein.

Heartsapocolypse said...

Absolutely... very well stated....

Nebraska Knitter said...

Lovely and well written. You set an incredible example for the rest of us. Everyone makes mistakes and no one or no hand made object is perfect.

Angie said...

I missed the entire hullabalou and will not validitate it by even reading the posts from ravelry.

That being said, Bravo! I love this post. I especially need to apply "I believe forgiveness is the hardest challenge we face in life, and the one that builds the most character".

Anonymous said...

I believe you've just written 1/2 of Celine Dion's next album

Laurie said...

I believe everything you said...and I believe this is one of the loveliest posts I have ever read. :-)

Donna Lee said...

I believe we're all here for a reason, even if we're not aware of what that reason is.

I believe that the filter between your brain and your mouth is one of the most important organs in your body.

I believe there's a miracle in every square inch of creation and I try to see one every day.

I believe I like you.

DawnMarie said...

Your words are truly lovely, and if more people saw the world like you it would be a better place.xx

Tamsie said...

What a lovely optimistic outlook!

Anonymous said...

Very, very well said.

I'll add to that - I believe that God is in us and God is with us. All free will does is give us to the option to acknowledge and talk to Him, or ignore Him.

Oh. And angels. I believe in angels. :)

random Cindy said...

I have no idea what brought this post about but I applaud you for being forthright and saying what I think many would agree with internally but not be brave enough to put out in public in their own words. Forgiveness heals both the forgiven and the forgiver. May we all find it in our hearts to forgive each other and ourselves.

Unknown said...

I believe everything that you wrote about. I love this website.
I am coming to the end of my journey in this world and forgiveness and also loving one's
self are the two hardest things
to do. Also forgiveness frees us;
we cannot change anyone else. The
choice is up to them.

Rabbitknitz said...

I believe that this recent post is lovely and insightful. I also believe that having a half full glass, rather than one half empty is the way to go through life. Add the KISS rule to that (keep, it simple, silly!) and you go a long way towards being happy! Cheers!