Make a stand kneeling
On this path effort
never goes to waste, and there is no failure. Even a little effort toward
spiritual awareness will yield protection from the greatest fear. Those who
follow this path, Arjuna, who resolve deep within themselves to seek Me alone, attain singleness of purpose. For those who lack
this resolution, the decisions of life are many-branched and endless. —The Bhagavad Gita, 2.40-41
The sun rose at 5:47 a.m. The newspaper informed me of this
with arcane precision after the fact. Earlier, the songbirds had announced the
coming dawn, gently awakening me through the open window. I rose and
experienced the sunrise, holding it up to neither measurement nor schedule. I
began my day with centering prayer. This made all the difference.
Prayer-birthed singleness of purpose vaccinates against the
world’s shallow, chaotic urgencies. But be forewarned, it replaces that shrill
emptiness with a haunting, often painful oneness.
Singleness of purpose allows me to see clearly the consuming
fear that spurs macho-bravado commanders-in-chief, myopic political
strategists, and sinful religious zealots. Far more importantly, it betrays my
own hypocrisy.
Singleness of purpose reveals the pro-life vs. pro-choice
debate as the coward’s way of ducking battle with our brutal economy and
hyper-sexualized culture. It proves my copy of An Inconvenient Truth on the passenger seat of the minivan is mere
cover for my own oil addiction. It points out my calls for gun control as the
high-fenced, eight-lane bypass speeding me safely past unmet neighbors in
trouble.
Singleness of purpose inspires me to fully engage fighting
children, focusing on underlying causes rather than my shattered illusion of
calm, addressing their unmet needs as
my own. Thus grows holy peace: The small child sees her family as her world.
The well-raised Child of God experiences the world as her family.
This article appears in Aug 2-8, 2006.
