THE SEASON TO SPRING FORWARD
By Rev. Dr. Arthur Chang
There is no denying that we have been through a difficult year with COVID-19. It has created havoc in many areas of daily life that are both physical and psychological. However, like in all disasters, humans have been able to pick themselves up and renew their march toward creating heaven on earth.
This is such a season. This is our springtime— a time not to feel sorry for ourselves but to collect our strength by drawing upon our faith. We believe in the Presence of a Compassionate God and Its available Power to lead us from this challenge, not as good as ever, but, better than ever.
It may be difficult to see the blessings of this horrific pandemic experience but it has changed our trajectory as a nation. This is an immense blessing. It has provided an opportunity for us to see more clearly the cancerous growth of tribalism, which, like a second wave of the pandemic, compounds the wounds to Wholeness. Springing forward, we will need Divine Guidance and Right Action to heal this psychic virus.
In the meantime, we must get people back to work with a leadership that understands the spiritual component of the economy is to bring about a viable middle class even as we grapple with combating the plight of homelessness. There will be resistance to these changes, but the vision of spring is a vision of greater wholeness.
This is not to say that we can snap our fingers or wave a wand for these changes to come about. Changing the hearts of folks who have garnered power will take much prayer, planning and doing. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe says, "Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Willingness is not enough; we must do."
Ernest Holmes said, “…it would not be normal to spend one’s whole time meditating and praying. The belief in the advisability of doing this is a mistaken idea that arises from one’s attempt to separate oneself from the world in which one lives. Meditation should stimulate the intellect to renewed and greater objective action. Thus, we should swing from prayer to performance, from meditation to action, from contemplation to accomplishment…”
This is the season to dream new dreams. We must believe that we can rebuild our economy to be inclusive of all people. We can begin anew by working on the tribal hearts of those who refuse to awaken to the world’s need for a recognition of the oneness of all people. We must build the structure of one tribe, Homo Sapiens, upon the foundational message of love. This is our great opportunity and the only assured passport to the future.
This is the dream—the optimism that has come with this season to spring forward.
