Years ago I had another blog and it was quite popular. I hadn’t formally written anything before, other than forced homework back in high school, and the notes we used to sneak during class, so I didn’t even know I could write. I was trying to persuade my then-teenage son how wonderful it would be if he started a blog. In the investigation of how they worked, I convinced myself. I wrote on and off for several tumultuous years, and it was very healing for me.

One day I discovered my audience had expanded from my small community here in the U.S. to several countries around the world, Singapore, Venezuela, Russia, Denmark, to name a few. How extraordinary to realize I was able to connect spiritually with someone from so far away, possibly even make a difference in how they greeted their day, or night. As citizens of the Universe, we circle around our own small territory, not really paying attention to anyone beyond our circumference. I think about the concept of strangers, unfamiliar and unknown, and I wonder how true that really is. We all need the same things to survive: food, water, shelter, fire. We have many of the same basic fears, hopes, and desires. Then why does it feel like someone on the other side of the world is so vastly different from *us*?  Cultures, traditions, politics, religious beliefs, are outward manifestations, but inside we are first and foremost citizens of the earth. The link that binds us is our ability to love.

Somewhere as I write this, a father is gently smoothing the brow of his sleeping child, a youth is pondering their future, a mother prepares for a day of caring for her family, an elder dreams of times gone by. The world encompasses many diversities, with a multitude of stories being played out, but there is nothing emotionally new under the sun, we are the same somewhere. It’s difficult to grasp the sheer number of beings sharing our planet. Imagine, people with family and friends trying to survive, to be at peace, just like you and me. Seeing them as a complete stranger no longer makes sense. I think we can bridge this great divide by expanding our acceptance for others while still valuing the uniqueness of each individual. To open our mind to similarities within the universal consciousness. We are in this together.

Reaching out by our actions, words, or even our spirituality, through prayers, song, or verse. This is an amazing gift we take for granted. I for one, believe in the power of intention. Somehow by widening our understanding of others, even if it’s just mentally first, whether for people up the street or across the sea, we can cause a ripple effect. Perhaps by focusing on our common humanity and the beauty that binds us, we can awaken to a new way of connecting, and the idea of a stranger will just be someone we have yet to meet.

 One by One

Thought by Thought

Prayer by Prayer,

Love can change the World.

In Peace, Raven