As I gazed at the candle I noticed the colors of the French flag. The dancing glow seemed so timely. It may seem we have crossed the line of a peaceful world. I don’t know. I do know Truth is truth and cannot be and is not defined by circumstances, history, or the actions of others. Embodied spiritual leaders and saints have all said the world will reflect what we hold dear. To change the world we must change ourselves. “Can both bitter and sweet water flow from the same stream?” (James 3:11). We cannot scream hatred of any person or creed and expect love to shine. We cannot turn a blind eye to others, the earth, and life and expect compassion to root.

Mark Nepo writes that to say I honor you means I intentionally become aware of you and make a commitment to “keep that truth visible from that moment forward. …It will not become invisible…” The same holds true for honoring myself. Should that truth of your being or my being become invisible again, “I will stay devoted to retrieving it.” Honor and murder, whether by terrorists or a gunman on a school campus or movie theater, are hard to reconcile.

Rather than seek that understanding, I shall seek the answer I am required to give… the Truth of my own heart. As the flame danced with the colors the world is holding today, I recalled the prayer of Macrina Wiederkehr. And with a bowed head I devoted myself to retrieving the Truth that seemed invisible….”no matter how beautiful it is” in a world upended.

The Truth

I will believe the truth about myself

no matter how beautiful it is:

I believe in my power
to transform indifference into love.
I believe I have an amazing gift
to keep hope alive in the face of despair.
I believe I have the remarkable skill
of deleting bitterness from my life.
I believe in my budding potential
to live with a nonviolent heart.
I believe in my passion to speak the truth
even when it isn’t popular.
I believe I have the strength of will
to be peace in a world of violence.
I believe in my miraculous capacity
for unconditional love.

I will believe the truth about myself
no matter how beautiful it is.

~Macrina Wiederkehr from Seven Sacred Pauses, Living Mindfully Through the Hours of the Day

Namaste, I honor you Paris.

Namaste, I honor each of you.

Namaste, I honor you little hobbit.

Mark Nepo “Seven Thousand Ways to Listen: Staying Close to What is Sacred”