25 Dec How can I help? Pray for peace
Sitting in beauty, graced with safety and love, it’s painful to know there are people for whom these simple things are not present.
The problems in the world seem so large, so utterly impossible to fix and change. I ask for guidance. How can I help?
Not being a diplomat or a physician or someone who can dash into war zones to help those whose bodies are blown up I wonder, What can I do?
Feeling the anguish of those whose lives were blown up in Sandy Hook or any other act of violence that happens every day, everywhere in the world, I pray, How can I help?
Without an answer I am brought to my knees, my heart surrendering.
I remember a Sufi prayer for peace
Allahumma anta salaam
wa minka salaam
wa ilayka ya’udu salaam
tabarakta rabana wa ta’alayta
ya dhul jalali wal’ikram
Translated it means:
May those who are facing unimaginable grief and pain be comforted.
May all of us learn how to care for one another.
May we learn how to take action to support justice and peace.
May we heal the cycle of violence.
May we come to know love in every moment.