Birds are singing clear and true. Their songs reflect their nature. The songs that fill our hearts come so simply from Doves or Pigeons, Robins or Sparrows, Chickadee, Gold Finch or the ever present Crow. They express what they are, who they are, and where they are. Naturally.

But humans, now they are a different species; as my Mother used to say: "Sure are different." Humans are pushed, pulled, persuaded and convinced that what they are told is true, while all the time we know it is not. Presidents and Prime Ministers spend so much time saying and doing things that instill fear and dread in people that no wonder many people sound like Chicken Little, singing "the sky is falling."

And just as we get close to the nest, about to expose the lies & those to tell them, a bird takes off feigning a wounded wing, calling in distress, 'you shouldn't speak about our country or our forces that way...' And that leads our attention away from the perpetrators and the truth over and over again.

If Jesus were to travel from Bethlehem to Jerusalem today, it would reflect those lies and all the pain & consternation they have caused. In today's world, the journey from Bethlehem to Jerusalem would normally take about 40 minutes by car. However, the results of so many lies and so much pain and suffering are major military check points with Israeli soldiers with the power to determine who goes through and who doesn't. So today the journey would take you about 45 hours... that is, IF you have the appropriate permit & papers and you don't look like a radical revolutionary like Jesus did.

An interesting opportunity was shown to me the other day by a friend. Called the Peace Experiment, it is very simple and can be done by anyone. Each time you see injustice, each time you see someone act or speak in a way that is unfair or untrue, instead of reacting in judgment or righteous indignation, say "Only Love Prevails." Hmmm. This is a good one for me. Each time I hear the President of speak or hear of him protecting Karl Rove or the Gang of Four, I want to go into my litany of criticisms and judgments... "Only Love Prevails." Let this be my song this day.

Mahatma Gandhi said: "I have learned through bitter experiencethe one supreme lesson to conserve my anger, and as heat conserved is transmuted into energy, even so our anger controlled can be transmuted into a power that can move the world."

It is Great to be Alive! Only Love Prevails! 

Sing on,
John

~Rev. John Wingfield is a Unity minister.  Ordained in 1977, he now serves as a "transitional" minister - healing and recreating community in various Unity churches around the country that are in change. He is currently serving Unity in Las Vegas, Nevada.  He and his wife Jane have raised 3 children, and make their home in Olympia, Washington.