Be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves. Rainer Maria Rilke
How can all of us from every walk of life and every state in this great nation heal the great divide that is tearing us apart, and how can we learn to appreciate each other’s point of view and love each other despite our differences?
When answers seem to be non-existent, Rilke’s advice to try and love the questions themselves challenges us to examine our hopes and fears as if our lives depend on the answer, because the fate of our nation does.
It’s time to ask ourselves –
What am I afraid of?
Why am I afraid of that idea, or movement, or what a group of people represents, whether it is a political party, a faith, a nationality, or a cause that I think somehow threatens my livelihood or my way of life?
Let the healing begin with me!
Jesus told the story of the Samaritan who took care of a wounded man he found lying beside the road. The traveler cleaned and bandaged the man’s wounds, put him on his own donkey and walking beside it himself, took him to an inn where he paid for the man’s care. Neither the color of the wounded man’s skin, his nationality or his political affiliation mattered to the Samaritan. Nor should they matter to us.
Take a deep breath America. It’s time for each of us to do our part to bring healing to our nation, to reach across the divide that has come between us and search for that bridge called Understanding.
Blessings on your efforts to give America the gift of healing,
Judy Osgood
November 9, 2020