Dear Reader,
I have been been thinking today about the events of September 11, 2001. I lived in New York City then, and I remember walking the streets in the days after the attacks, looking for some way to help. The blood banks were full, and the line to apply for volunteer clean-up duties contained over a thousand people every day. I was feeling a little helpless until I had a major insight, one that helped shape the path I am on now. I realized that the most powerful, unique thing I could offer was my heart.
The same is true for you, dear reader. You have a deep heart. I know it, and so do you. May you follow it, no matter what. May you share it, no matter what. When faced with the choice, may you as often as possible choose to be more loving rather than less so. May you know, without a doubt, that you can make a difference, whether for one person or for many.
The world needs all the gifts you have to offer. There is no time like the present.
I honor your loving heart,
John
It was after 9/11 that I realized that one of my gifts was to listen. I was sitting with a National Guard chaplain at a Starbucks a few blocks away from WTC and she was “decompressing” from all the people she had been ministering. She left with a lighter spirit, much needed in those times. I made more of an effort to deliberately listen after that. Simple, but so many people need to be heard and seen.