A few days after the attacks in New York and Washington D.C. last September, I was hungry for signs of the coming of peace and goodwill in the world. I found some at a community prayer and support meeting in our tidy little town north of San Francisco. No one there had lost family or friends in the attacks, and yet there was an intensity of longing that I hadn't felt in any group in quite some time.
People were looking for comfort and reassurance. Mainly, though, they wanted to understand things better, to see what we needed to do differently as individuals and, here in the United States at least, as a country. One woman remarked how kind people had been that week. Then, through tears of frustration, she said that just that day she'd gotten irritated at a slow driver. There were understanding nods around the room. It was a moment of selfknowledge, of humility. Miniscule in importance on a global scale, maybe, but still a birthing moment of peace.
At this time of the year, good will to everyone sounds so simple as a holiday slogan. But anyone who's been crossed in life knows how hard it is to practice consistently.
