Be the Change
(image credit: Tamer Sobhy)
It’s been a tough go this last year and a half due to Covid.
But one thing that hasn’t changed all that much is our indifference to the people and circumstances around us.
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve already seen mums at the park looking at their phones while their children shout, “Mummy, look at me. Look at ME!”
Sitting in a restaurant in the ‘before times’ and whole families not speaking to each other because they’re looking down at their devices. Even babies propped up in front of an iPad!
We seem to value ‘likes’ on Instagram or Facebook more than we value the folks who are ‘liking’ us.
“The poor are a nuisance.” “I don’t care about others, I refuse to wear a mask.” “More money!” “More trees!” More….”All about ME!”
Some people say…”Where is God in all this?” But I say,”Have you tried to connect to God lately?”
This past Sunday was Pentecost, where we celebrate the descent of the Holy Spirit and Fr. Rob Galea made several good points ( including that the Spirit is the third person of the Trinity…not just a symbol)…
“How do I know that the Holy Spirit is within me? Because you will have the fruits of the spirit:
The Fruit of the Holy Spirit is a biblical term that sums up nine attributes of a person or community living in accord with the Holy Spirit, according to chapter 5 of the Epistle to the Galatians: "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
I know that I don’t always exemplify these fruits of the Spirit but it is my goal to work at them daily and when I feel in accordance with these fruits I only want what is good for others.
So this week let’s think about others and not spend quite as much time on our phones or computers. (Me too!)
Let’s notice the Spring flowers. Let’s give a struggling person a few dollars when we are asked. Let’s spend less time looking at the mirror and instead mirror the Holy Spirit who wants to offer us peace and joy!
Let’s hug our children, call our parents, write our friends, and love our partners. Because these dark times don’t have to ‘win’. We can find the peace we’re looking for ….even in a pandemic.
Let’s spread love ….like a pandemic…and be the change we hope to see.