Greetings,

My friend Matt Carriker sent this note today. It is so helpful that I'm sending it on to you. Regardless of your beliefs, this message will help shed light on all that's happened in Boston this week and the way we can move forward most effectively to help our world heal. 

Peace to you,
Jacqueline

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Note from Matt (www.backtojesusnow.com ):

In the midst of all that has been happening this week in Boston, I would like to share the following reflection with you.  As I sat down to my journal this morning, this was the conversation I had with God.

M:    Why do people do cruel and horrific acts?  How are people capable of such violence?

G:    It all stems from fear.  People live in fear, or they have been taught fear.  When that is the case, fear-based living becomes a way of life.  You know no other way.

M:    Surely people must know that there are ways other than violence?

G:    You know what you have been taught, and what you have lived.  If you are fortunate to have been surrounded by loving mentors and communities growing up, then that will be the norm for you.  If you were raised or taught from a place of fear, chances are that is all you know.

M:    But what about people's conscience?  What about your voice that speaks a voice of love inside of us?

G:    I always speak to you, and invite you to live from a place of love.  But when fear is what you know- what you have been conditioned to live and believe and act by- then it is as if my voice is a whisper in a large, noisy crowd.

M:    Kind of like the voices that cried to save Jesus that were drowned out by those yelling to save Barabbas.

G:    Exactly.  Even if someone raised from such a fearful place were to hear the voice of their conscience; the voice of love speaking within them; they would probably dismiss it because they do not recognize it.  Love, you see, is like a seed that must be watered and tended to ever-so gently.  Though that seed is always inside each one of you, it cannot grow without water and sunlight.

M:    How can we help that seed grow inside others and ourselves?

G:    First, by becoming a part of the Beloved Community.  All spiritual aspirants cannot go it alone.  You need others on the path.  When you are tested and challenged, that is when you need community the most.

Paramhansa Yogananda once wisely said, 'Environment is stronger than will power.'  Though you may will to love, it is difficult to do so when you are surrounded by fear.  It is difficult to love if you try to do so all by yourself.  Rely on God.  Lean on others.  Be a source of strength and hope, and a beacon of light to others in need.  Live knowing that God is love, and that your greatest calling is to be the source of that love.

Second, do not let the fear of those who commit violence overtake you.  Fear, like love, can be contagious.  Those who have spread fear and violence this week would be all the more happy to see that fear and violence expand.  Do not let it.  Take the higher road.  Once you choose love, you stop fear in its tracks.  Fear cannot exist once love has been brought into the space, just as darkness cannot exist once light has been brought in.

Live out love, and that love will cast out fear.  It will not be easy to love in a time where fear is spreading like wildfire, but I call you to nothing less.

Love is lived out and tested when the opposite of love is manifest.  Saint Francis knew this simple truth, one that is not easy to live out.

    Lord, make me an instrument of your peace,
    Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
    Where there is injury, pardon;
    Where there is doubt, faith;
    Where there is despair, hope;
    Where there is darkness, light;
    Where there is sadness, joy.

    O Divine Master,
    grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled, as to console;
    to be understood, as to understand;
    to be loved, as to love.
    For it is in giving that we receive.
    It is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
    and it is in dying that we are born to Eternal Life.

    Amen.

To truly incarnate love, we must live it out even when fear is in the space.  To truly embody light, you must shine brightly even in the midst of darkness, ignorance, misunderstanding, prejudice, and unconsciousness.  I call you to nothing less.

M:    Thank you God.  I love you.

G:    I love you too.  Never forget that.

Peace to you all. 

Matt

www.backtojesusnow.com