“Justice in the life and conduct of the State is possible only as first it resides in the hearts and souls of the citizens.”
—Plato
“To all people of good will who are working for social justice: never tire of working for a more just world, marked by greater solidarity!”
—Pope Francis
When words fail me, I seek out the words of others to help me gain perspective. If I focus on justice, an understanding of which I believe to be rooted in love, I find that I can gain some measure of peace in turbulent times.
If I can focus on love, which I believe is the enlivening energy of creation, I can steer my heart away from its desire to “other” my fellow human and creature kin.
If I focus on love, even when I have abhorrence for someone’s behaviors or lack understanding of another’s motivations, I can see the possibility of a third way. Neither us/them nor you/me, but the WE we are becoming.
As you search your own hearts today, may you find a way to peace and hope.
“Swiftly arose and spread around me the peace and knowledge
that pass all the argument of the earth,
And I know that the hand of God is the promise of my own,
And I know that the spirit of God is the brother of my own,
And that all the men ever born are also my brothers, and the
women my sisters and lovers,
And that a kelson of the creation is love …”—Walt Whitman, Leaves of Grass
—Jenifer Hanson, Prairiewoods director
photo by Frank Olsen