John Paaul Lederach wrote, “Don’t ask the mountain to move, just take a pebble each time you visit.” There is a Hebrew phrase “Tikkun Olam” which means “You are here to repair the world.” And then, Confucius wrote, “To put the world in order we must first put the nation in order; to put the nation in order, we must first put the family in order; to put the family in order, we must first cultivate our personal life; we must first set our hearts right.” 

I received all this wisdom from a book by Mark Nepo called, “More Together than Alone.” This book landed on my desk at just the right time, for it gives me a deeper sense of the same language we all speak. In our philosophy, we teach that we must set our own selves in order first. We must change our hearts if we want the heart of the world to change. Science teaches us that as we affect the one field of energy with our thoughts, so it is felt everywhere.

So, it all comes back to me and to you. If we can finally take our part in the Divine Matrix as strong, self-loving individuals, knowing that what we do affects each and every form of life, our world will be on its way to healing.

The world is in so much need right now, so it seems; however, if we get wrapped up in the enormity of it, we will give up. We must take a pebble each time we visit this mountain and we will know which pebble to remove.

I know we cannot stand idly by any longer in regards to the inhumanity that we are seeing toward our fellow brothers and sisters. I must find a way to get involved now. If it means putting myself out of our comfort zone, I’ll just have to take that pebble and move it out of the way now. I invite us all to do the same if it calls us.

Each of us knows exactly what is ours to do. I know it begins with prayer and a deep knowing of my place in the Universe before I can act without anger and hatred. We must be like Gandhi and Mother Theresa and march through our lives in service to good and not war against those we do not agree with. There is a difference between these two forms of seeking change. Yes, it can be scary to think we might fail or we might stir more of the same with our actions, but if we do not try, we will have let our human family down.

I believe that there are more of us that live in love than those who live in fear. It’s just that we haven’t really stood up yet. It’s time to get involved passed our prayer shawls, mats and secret chambers. We must armor ourselves with Love and march out not afraid to do it even if we seem the fool.

I do believe that Love will win. It has to. We just haven’t stuck long enough with it to prove it. Love will win and we are the ones to carry this sword now.

So remember: “To put the world in order we must first put the nation in order; to put the nation in order, we must first put the family in order; to put the family in order, we must first cultivate our personal life; we must first set our hearts right.” 

Love and Aloha,

Rev. Rita