Meditation Moments: The Principal Principle

Returning violence for violence multiplies violence, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars... Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.
       ― The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.* [1929-1968]


       Sure, sure - love is the answer...easy to say and easy to do when the people are lovable. But there are people - whole groups of them - that I'm expected to hate because of all the awful things they do; oh, and they really do awful things. But so do the people I'm supposed to support. In war, they take 1 of ours, so we take 2 of theirs, and they take 3 of ours.... And there are others that aren't fighting far away wars but are still doing terrible things in the name of religion, race, politics, gender, sexual orientation, and, just because it's all they know how to do... Oh, Jesus, Dr. King, Mahatma...all of you were murdered by those you were teaching us to love. How scary is that? 
           Ok, deep breaths. I'm not heading for a war zone. I'm not a risk-taker heading off deliberately to save the world in unsafe places. Sometimes I wish I had that kind of courage and drive, but the truth is, I do not. So, then, grant me peace and love within myself and grace to reflect it outwardly with those I meet each day. And still fully human, I am likely to take sides in a given conflict, but please, Lord of my Heart, help me to remember to show love to everyone, or at least patience and kindness even to those with whom I disagree. Remind me, too, that I don't have all the information, I don't know all the backstory, I may never understand why some feel and act as they do and all You ask is that I love them, even if they don't love me back. I'll try, at least in principle. amen.


 *Dr, Martin Luther King, Jr. was an African-American Christian pastor, social activist, and humanitarian leader of the American Civil Rights movement of the 1960s. Known for his stance of nonviolent civil disobedience for which he won the Nobel Peace Prize, King was assassinated in 1968. His most famous speech is the 1963 "I Have A Dream" given from the Capitol steps in Washington, DC in 1963.   
          



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