A DIFFERENT WINDOW: JOINED TOGETHER AT THE HEART

None can deny that this past decade has been one of turmoil. There has been so much tragedy in such a short time that we might say that the world is falling apart at our feet. Or we might say that this has been a decade in which the world was joined together at its heart.

Our hearts were touched by pictures of the starving children in Sudan. Didn't you feel like those were your children that were hungry? Didn't your heart ache to be able to reach out with a cup of milk? For a little while everyone felt the hunger of that child. Everyone felt the despair of the brother that held the child. Everyone felt the helplessness of the mother who had no food for her children.

When you heard of the killings in Northern Ireland didn't you feel that it was your sons, your brothers, your fathers that were dying? Our hearts united in grief and pain.

The bombing in Oklahoma was a tragedy -- a tragedy that shocked and grieved everyone around the world. Our hearts were united in sympathy and pain.

When Princess Diana died, it wasn't England's loss but a shared loss. The world had lost a princess. We were united.

Mother Theresa passed away. Didn't you feel as if the world had suffered a loss? Didn't you feel your sadness joining with the sadness of the world?

John Kennedy's death wasn't confined to his family. The pain caused the whole world to hurt. We all felt as if a dear little brother had left us. We joined together in mourning.

When the news came to us that a man had been tied to the back of a pick-up truck and dragged to his death, for just a heartbeat it wasn't some unknown man that had been so brutally mistreated but a neighbor, a brother, a fellow human. It was you. The sense of insult we felt wasn't for someone else it was for ourselves as well. We felt outrage that someone who was a part of the whole we call humanity could do that to another. We felt shame that the world contained one with such coldheartedness. How dare one of us do that to one of us? For just a second we were the victim. We were his family. We were one.

The earthquake in Turkey wasn't something that happened far away and didn't touch us. All the world, even countries that saw themselves as enemies, felt the pain and disbelief. We were the ones buried in rubble. We were the ones searching for our loved ones. We were united.

The school shootings that took so many children didn't take just the children of other families. The children that died were our children. They were the children of everyone. We were the parents. We were the teachers. We all felt the helplessness, the panic, the disbelief, and the total outrage.

When we heard the teenage girl on television crying in fear, didn't your own heart tremble? Didn't your mind recoil? She was not someone else's daughter. She was mine. She was yours. She was each of us crying for our lost security, our lost classmates and just a little piece of ourselves and all humanity.

All great philosophies have as the core of their teachings that we are all one. What is done to the least is done to all. We tend to forget that fact in the light of day to day life. As we struggle to provide for ourselves and our families, we forget that all humanity is our family. We are all one.

These tragedies joined us at the heart and mind into one group in a way that great joy couldn't have. Our prayers and our love reached out to someone we had never met. We felt oneness. Can we hold onto our sense of unity, the feeling of brotherhood? Can we feel it for everyone who rejoices as well as everyone who hurts? Can the brotherhood we felt be a part of our everyday life?

Can we look at the mother of the child who is crying in the cafe with compassion instead of annoyance? Can we feel the discomfort of the child?

When see an elderly person slowly, so slowly, moving through the crosswalk, can we become him? Can we feel the aching in his joints? Can we imagine our feet barely lifting off the ground enough to move us forward? Can we send him thoughts of love? Can we pray for his comfort instead of just wishing for him to hurry up so we can go about our important stuff?

We see a child running and laughing and spinning in circles just because he can. Can we feel his joy, his freedom, his love of just being alive?

When we see the young couple sharing a kiss at the stoplight, can we feel their love and joy? Can we hold the feeling as the light turns green and we wait for them to notice it?

Can you and I just for one day, or for a part of one day, or for an hour try to feel I the oneness we all share? For a little while each day we can feel pulled together at the heart.

We can see those we don't agree with, those who annoy us, those whose have chosen a different way of life, as people who, like ourselves, are seeking answers. We can understand that we don't know what works for them. We aren't even sure of what will work for us in our own lives. We are just doing our best from where we see things and in that respect we are joined together at the heart.