Why am I so grateful to be alive at this time when we are in such global turmoil? Nearly everywhere I look on the global, national and personal level, humanity is facing seemingly insurmountable difficulties. Solutions that once worked, or seemed to, are now just rapidly creating chaos.
Yet, I awoke this morning with joy in my heart. I know that I am responding to a world where the path between crisis and opportunity can be paved with simple, elegant, workable solutions. However, these solutions may not be easy because Mother Earth and her inhabitants have such great need of basics such as clean, safe water; space to grow; and healthy plant life that can then provide food and fresh, clear air.
So why am I often filled with joy, and why am I writing about global issues in an article that speaks “from heart to heart”? I am inspired to write because my hope and faith have been aroused.
Let me ask: How can humanity think that we are so highly evolved when we have made poor choices over and over to the detriment of our own inner growth and of this planet we live on? We hear and talk blithely about an awakening that is to bring about sweeping change.
Wouldn’t it help if someone who has advanced further in evolution would show us a better way — a way that we can choose to follow of our own free will?
I have come to believe that there is a spiritual agency that has guided mankind since its inception. My heart has responded to One known to many as “the world teacher” who has come to guide us. This One comes to assist all, the religious and the nonreligious, to not only solve a current world crisis, but to continue to work beside us as brother and friend as we walk farther on our evolutionary path.
This teacher, also known as Maitreya Buddha, has come into the world as Head of the Masters of Wisdom to give us a choice to continue to muddle along in our destructive path or to accept and implement a plan for peace and justice based on sharing resources so there is no longer hunger or suffering among humanity’s poor.
Over a year ago, during the Season of Nonviolence, I attended a video lecture that described the coming of this teacher. I have studied a number of books, attended meditations, started a meditation group, and begun to picture a world where each and every person awakes knowing that a nutritious breakfast awaits.
When I envision a world in which no one need experience hunger, because its inhabitants have learned to share, then I know that we have come to a crossroads. This simple but momentous choice heralds right human relationships and a beginning of untold opportunity for a free and lasting world. This is what gets me up in the morning with a smile on my face.
Bethel Evans assists with the sound system for the monthly interfaith prayer services and plays Native American flute as a certified music practitioner. She is also a member of Spiritual Growth Center. This column is coordinated by Lane Interfaith Alliance, a network of more than 40 religious traditions and spiritual teachings. For more information, visit www.laneinterfaithalliance.org or call 344-5693.