BLACK AND WHITE

Life is full of things that seem to be contrasting.  There is birth and death.  There is heaven and hell.  There is good and evil.  There are angels and demons.  There is light and darkness.  There is love and hate.  There is joy and sorrow.  There is war and peace.  There is loneliness and there is community.  There is work and there is play.  There is sleep and their is awake.  There is creation and there is evolution.  There is truth and their is lies.  There is justice and injustice.  There is the rich and the poor.  There is marriage and there is divorce.  There are believers and non-believers.  The list is endless.

Yet out of all this diversity there needs to be a coming together with the willingness to make this world a better place for all.  As a child I would say that I was quiet and shy while my brother was talkative and noisy.  Over the years each of us go through different stages as we discover the real person that we were called to be. 

Although within I have a soft heart I have also have learned to be tough and unyielding and mean spirited.  I think that as I grew I discovered conditional love, disappointing friendships, goals I could not meet and life did not end in "happily ever after" like the fairy stories did.  I always wanted the hero to win and for there to be peace. I wanted to be a loving person but like St. Paul often found the good that I wanted to do I did not do. 

I have prayed for harmony that can come only through the listening soul.

I searched for friends who would allow me to be myself even when we disagreed.  I value being heard and treated as an equal.  I have done my part in looking after my children and grandchildren and great-grandchildren and I think we should share the load when there is work to be done.  I realize that I have my own weaknesses and that I am vulnerable just like every other human being on this earth.  No one likes to say I am sorry I was wrong but I see that as a sign of strength not weakness.

 There are many areas of life that are beyond our understanding and we may never figure out.  I know I need to be forgiven at times and that I also need to forgive.  Unforgiveness just causes depression and anger.  I have always believed in the healing power of prayer and that each one of us has a gift of healing expressed in our own way.  Prayer helps me to release some of my own negative emotions and calm my heart.  Stress is the cause of so much illness as the body has a mind of it's own and tries to get our attention. 

"Create in me O Lord a clean heart and a steadfast spirit renew within me".  This is a process of opening to the light of goodness so that less of the darkness consumes me. 

                                                    I feel so very small at times.
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Life is not black and white but they can compliment each other.  I am reminded to grieve with the heavy hearted and rejoice with the joyful and to feel compassion for many bear wounds as deep as those of Christ crucified.  We live in a world of confusion and poverty and violence and war and many are victims.  Maybe in some small way I can feel the suffering of others as I lift them up in prayer.  Maybe we can bring peace to where we are and that is a start!