Dear Laura and All,
One of the images that haunted me since this tragedy began was the ringing of the bells. Bells throughout history resonate with the calling to safety. When those who escaped the building and couldn’t see the way, they heard the bells. Following the sound they made their way through the rubble to the open arms of the good people of New York City.
It made me think of the famous Meditation of John Donne:
“No man is an island, entire of itself: every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main; if a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less, as well as if a promontory were, as well as if a manor of the thy friends, or thine own were; any man’s death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind; and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.”
In the book Wisdom of the Ages Wayne W. Dyer expounds on this quote in his chapter on “Oneness.” He says:
“When you hear bells ringing out in sadness indicating someone has been victimized by violence, listen carefully and remind yourself of what John Donne wrote over four centuries ago. That bell tolls for all of us, including thee!
To apply these unity consciousness ideas in you life begin to:
- Stop viewing yourself as distant and apart on the basis of your geography, or your isolation from those who are struggling elsewhere. When you become aware of someone suffering on another shore, say a silent prayer for that person, and see if you can experience in you r heart your oneness with that person.
Isn’t this what Tom Burger reminded us all to do when he posted about the little known catastrophe in Russia?
- See God in everyone and everything and behave each day as if the God in all things truly mattered. Try to suspend you judgments of those who are less ambitious, less peaceful, and less loving, and instead know that hatred and judgment are the problems in the first place. When you judge the haters and hate the judgers, you are a part of the cancer rather than the treatment.
How many scenes do we need to witness to know that it isn’t the Muslim people that spew hatred. Let us pray for strength and that our leaders will seek justice.
- Use fewer labels that distinguish you from “them.” You are not an American, Californian, Italian, Jew, middle-aged, stocky, female, athletic, or any other label. You are a citizen of the world, and when you stop the labeling process you will begin to see God in every garden, every forest, every home, every creature, and every person, and inner peace will be your reward.”
Most of the destruction was to the “World” Trade Center. It was an attack on our humanity as a global community.
When the bell tolled, it was heard around the world. It tolled for all of us. Listen.
