ConsciousCreation

I wrote this originally for an article in the Frederick News-Post.  I don’t know that it was published and I really wanted to share it.  Also, for those who attended the Celebration Service on Sunday, you will recognize the dream.  AND note that I goofed on Sunday and attributed the dream to Mark Nepo – wrong!  I apologize to you all and to Dr. Luckin.   Here is the original piece with the correct attribution!!!

As I was preparing for this past Sunday’s lesson, I came across a daily meditation written by Rev. Dr. Bob Luckin where he tells of a dream he had in which all the food for Thanksgiving was stolen from all the houses and stores in his neighborhood.   Once this loss was discovered, everyone came out of their houses, screaming and hollering and blaming each other.  And then they began to breathe again and realized that screaming and blaming would get them nowhere and that they were all hungry.  As each family searched their cupboard, one family found ten pounds of rice and another found a dozen cans of peas and some on.    They all brought out what they found and together they shared their meager community meal.  For some, this was the first time they had actually met their neighbors.   According Dr. Luckin, in his dream, one of the man stood up and shared  “…I think this is the kind of Thanksgiving our forebears had.  Now I understand the meaning of being grateful…”   And then his alarm went off and he woke up, grateful and disappointed that it had been a dream.

As I pondered his dream, I found myself wondering what the reaction would be in our community if that dream were real.  Would we get past the screaming and hollering and blaming each other to share what we did have?  Would we risk reaching out to people we did not know and willingly share of our meager resources?

My faith leads me to say ‘yes.’  Yes, we would find our way to stepping out and sharing with friends, family and strangers.    We would look at one another and see past the different skin colors, the different languages, the different ethnic backgrounds and the different religions to the core of our beings – to the knowing that we all have the same desire for love and security and abundance and peace – the same desire for sense of family and warm place to live – for friends and community.

My ‘yes’ comes from knowing that in Unity, and in all faith traditions that I have studied, there is a variation of the Golden Rule:  Do unto others as you would have it done unto you. And when I take this principle into my heart, I must first ask myself, “How do I wish to be treated.”   I would like to be treated as an individual, not a stereotype; I would want the opportunity to show my fear without being seen as weak – to stand up for myself without being seen as arrogant or aggressive –  to have my opinion heard even when it differs from another .  I want to have an equal opportunity to learn and work and live to the fullest in this land of opportunity.  I would like to be acknowledged as a unique manifestation of God – a child of the Most High.  And if this is how I wish to be treated, then I must treat all others this way as well.

If I wish to have my dream end as Dr. Luckin did, I must be willing to see God manifesting as each person I meet.  I must be willing to find beauty in our differences, not just our similarities.  I must live in gratitude for the abundance that in manifested in my life each day and know that, with God as my Source, there will always be enough room at the table for everyone, that together we, as did our forebears, will find the ideas, the resources, the love, the compassion, and the strength to move our community and our world forward, to dissolve enmity based on differences, and evolve our world through love and thanksgiving to one that works for all.  Happy Thanksgiving.