This morning's local newspaper (the Albuquerque Journal) carried the horrific account of U.S. Representative 'Gabby' Gifford's shooting, the six dead and 13 wounded. I hung my head in sadness, anger, and shame. I had to wonder if the vitriol spewed in the 2010 political campaigns had come home to roost. Predictably there were "sincere condolences" from one source of that vitriol, and vehement denial from another: "I just don't see the connection."
It gave me pause to reflect whether I truly live by own professed values, so I got down on my knees to meditate and pray (as best a secularist might manage to pray). My prayer begins with a moment of silence to listen for the divine. (Sorry, nothing yet. Please, let the clouds part and God's voice boom forth.) Then I repeated my daily affirmation, which was once focused on developing the mental outlook to become a millionaire. Fortunately, it has evolved into something quite different after two years of tweaking.
Like the faithful of many religions, I 'pray' several times daily -- or at least I try to -- upon rising, before sleeping, and as many times in between as I can remember to. I kneel for humility's sake whenever I can.
"Every day is a treasure to cherish and to live fully yet wisely. I am thankful for the endless opportunities and capabilities I have been blessed with, and for each and every new day I am granted. I will conscientiously make wise use of this abundance to better myself -- spiritually, emotionally, intellectually, physically, and financially -- and then share my abundance to benefit the world around me and the people I love. I will strive to be balanced, focused, calm, and kind, and to be courageous and constructive in fostering decency, honesty, and justice through my actions. These blessings are mine to nurture and freely share. I know I can make a positive contribution to peace and prosperity in the world."
Every day is a challenge to live by these principles. Some days I fall short. So after this morning's reflection, I revised yesterday's post to delete two words ("bimbo" and "idiotic"). The world did not need them, and I was wrong to use them. I apologize.
(Revised Jan. 9, 2011, to take a more 'Socratic' tone)
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