We are needed for this time #resist

To remember why we are here, doing what we do:

Maha Ghosananda: "Ordinary people can be creators of peace: There is little we can do for peace in the world without peace in our minds. And so when we begin to make peace, we begin with silence, meditation and prayer. When we stabilize our posture and calm our mind, we can realize peace within ourselves. Then we can radiate loving kindness to those around us, our family, our community, our nation and the whole world.

Peacemaking requires compassion. It requires the skill of listening. To listen we have to give up ourselves, even our own words. As we come to trust one another we discover new possibilities for overcoming conflict. If we listen carefully we can hear peace growing.

Peacemaking requires selflessness. There is little we can do for peace as long as we think we are the only ones who know the way. Peacemaking requires wisdom. Peace is a path that is chosen consciously. It is not an aimless wandering, but a step-by-step journey."

Steven Charleston: "What seems broken now will one day be made whole again. As people of faith, that is our belief and our witness. We carry on with our work of justice and reconciliation, no matter how hard the job may be, because we believe that is how we do our part for the greater plan of healing. How long that will take, we do not know. We are committed to working for as long as it takes. We will be faithful to our call and invite others from every walk of life to join us. We are the people of hope, the people of vision, the people of the Spirit. We come from all sacred directions and we will not cease our work until peace and mercy have been assured. We do this not for reward or recognition, not for political gain, but for the future of all life. We do it because we know in our hearts that what seems broken now will one day be made whole again.

You are needed for what is to come, for the struggle against fear, the turning point toward peace, that is why you are here, in the place you are, among the people you call community, to be a wise counselor and a calming presence, to invite others to work together, amid the pulls to extreme, against the rush to partisan, you are a center of hope, a balance of compassion and common sense, that will help to halt the rise of anger, and allow reason to guide the tiller of tomorrow, that is why you are here: you are needed for what is to come."

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