ORDER FORM | HOME PAGE | SEPTEMBER 11, 2001
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Dr. Matthew Anderson |
When you are helpless and dumbfounded
Then a stretcher will come from Grace
And take you wherever you need to go.
--Rumi
Feeling powerless is not the same as being powerless. There is much we can do to make a difference to help with the healing process that we must enter over the coming months.
Devastation is the field where Grace unexpectedly begins to sprout. It rises up like the Phoenix and reminds us that pain does not have to make us full of hate or rage or hopelessness. This terrible day of devastation will bring many of us to our knees. But I also know that being on my knees is the position that has usually taught me the most about life, love and hope.
The greatest danger at this point is that we will be tempted to shut down and close our hearts in an attempt to protect ourselves from further hurt and harm. We will want to use all our usual means of tranquilizing ourselves, including food, alcohol and drugs.
Instead, ask yourself, "What can I do today to help?" Don't imagine for a second that you will not find an answer to that question. You will. And you may even be surprised. You may discover that you can make a significant difference in the healing process. You may find that you become the "stretcher of Grace" that comes and takes care of someone who desperately needs it. You may be an agent of healing in the midst of your own pain, and that will be a special part of your own recovery.
This is not a time for isolating and letting someone else do the hard work. It is not a time to give in to that inner voice that loves to tell you that you don't matter or that you are not capable of making a difference. This is a time to stand up and reach out and share your love and wisdom.
This is not a time to give into the easy reactions of hate and hopelessness. It's a time to trust that the stretcher of Grace will come and bear us into a deep healing.
It is not a time to hide but a time to hold on to each other and support the ones who cannot stand.
Out of a great need
We are all holding hands
And climbing.
--Hafiz
