Once again, the world is rocked by a shocking event on a day that ‘should’ have been celebratory; one on which well trained athletes brought their vibrant spirits and strong bodies to engage in friendly competition. Instead, as a result of dark inclinations and violent actions, lives were forever changed; some by death and injury, others by emotional trauma. Those individuals and families who traveled to attend or participate in The Boston Marathon had no clue how their day would end. At this moment, no one has claimed responsibility for the horrific bombing. When I heard about it, my reaction was the same as it was on 9/11/01.  Shock and then determination not to feed the situation with fear, since that is what terrorists want. And this was indeed an act of terror; meant to create chaos, regardless of who masterminded it.

In the face of such things, music has the power to heal. As I was perusing Facebook this morning, I saw this post from prolific and multi-award winning musician David Pomeranz whose song ‘It’s In Every One Of Us” came into my life in the late 1970’s as a spiritual anthem. I was tickled when I recognized the music, sans lyrics in the Tom Hanks movie “Big”

 

“I am astonished and saddened about the tragedy in Boston and I just want to let the families of the victims know how deeply sorry I feel that this has happened. This is insanity to the max and there is never any earthly excuse for this kind of evil. That said, it’s up to the rest of us to keeping shining our goodness to the world and not get sucked into urges toward apathy or revenge. Let’s hold …the “boat” still by actively pouring love into the space.  This is not some “nice” cliched idea. It’s only our active caring and concern for one another that has any hope of balancing out and healing the effects of this kind of terrible thing. Criminals will do themselves in. OUR goodness rules and it is our most effective weapon. March onward and take heart, dear friends.”
My response was: “Agreed, David. I decided on 9/11 that in the face of terrorism and violence, I refused to feed it with fear and instead, bless those impacted (and even as humanly challenging as it may be; even those who perpeptrated the violence) with love. It isn’t cosmic foo foo stuff we’re talking about here. I have seen it do wonders. Count me in as a member of the ‘Goodness Team’, marching along. I remember a line “An army of lovers can not fail.”

As the days unfold and more information comes in, it will be tempting to contemplate revenge against ‘the bad guys’ who did this. Justice and revenge are two different things. Holding anger in our hearts and minds will only feed the darkness. Instead, let’s shine our lights that much more brightly.

It’s in every one of us

To be wise

Find your heart

Open up both your eyes

We can all know everything

Without ever knowing why

It’s in every one of us

By and by

It’s in everyone of us

I just remembered

It’s like I been sleeping for years,

I’m not awake as I can be

But my seeing is better,

I can see Through the tears,

I’ve been realising that,

I bought this ticket

And watching only half of the show,

There is scenery and lights

And a cast of thousands,

Who all know What I know,

And it’s good

That it’s so

http://youtu.be/79GD—xXc4 ? It’s In Every One Of Us-David Pomeranz

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