Reverence

Reverence.  Such an important key to life and to living a compassionate, loving life.  And yet, our behavior and values are so shaped by ideals that lack reverence, we no longer know what it is to be reverent.  When we strive for our own safety at the expense of another person’s safety, we are deprived of the protection reverence provides.  When we judge someone to be superior and another inferior, we depart from a reverent life.  When we lose reverence, we become human beings using other human beings.  Simply put, reverence is the experience of accepting that all life is of value.  

Today we sit in a country torn apart by racial inequities.  We have a police force that often times uses brute force to control others.  The ‘other’ is often times judged as being inferior.  Seeing people that don’t look like the reflection in the mirror can promote fear in many.  Add to that the ability to have power and control over others, and people can and do dissolve into brutal and decisive behaviors.  

My wish for all of us on the planet is that we move more toward a place of reverence.  When we can hold reverence for all life, we can become compassionate and caring human beings.  May we never forget George Floyd and the many others, and may we hold them all with reverence for what is hopefully a change in this country.