For this Sunday, March 17th, the focus for
our meditation will be on Community. Recently a person on Twitter received
a response to one of his tweets from a woman who was making what appeared to be
a suicidal gesture. Fortunately, he did
not ignore it. Even though he lives in a
completely different geographic area he reached out to his Community of
online followers and connected with people who were able to alert authorities
and intervene to save the woman’s life. Several
of them have offered to actually visit the woman in the hospital to let her
know she is not alone and has a Community of support available to
her. All too often we find social media
an environment that is rampant with hatred and vitriol spewed by people who hide
behind anonymity. There have been
numerous times when I have considered giving up social media because I become
so fed up with the nasty pettiness I see there.
But then I come across something like this individual’s post and realize
the precious resource that social media can be if we allow it. I prefer to focus on those moments when
people utilize social media to encourage or console others, even those they have
never met in person. There is tremendous
power in the fund-raising capability of social media that can bring needed
financial assistance to those in crisis.
If nothing else, social media can be a mechanism by which we stay
involved in each other’s lives and feel as though we truly do belong to a Community
of caring individuals with like interests.
Our modern-day notion of Community is quite different from
generations past when people physically gathered in a town square to listen to
a speaker or attended a neighbor’s barn-raising to lend a hand. There is no reason why social media cannot be
as powerful a Community resource as how people stayed informed and helped
each other decades or even centuries ago.
It is up to us as individuals to examine how we use social media and to
ask ourselves if we use it to promote goodness or instead see it as a vehicle
to vent our negative feelings. This week
in our prayer and meditation time let us consider our online social behavior
and ask if our presence creates a sense of Community. Let us ask to be guided how to behave responsibly
online and reach out to others who may not feel part of a Community that
cares for them so all may recognize the connection we have to each other as
human beings.
In our efforts this week let us also continue to use the energy
of our prayers and meditation to amplify the light that covers and fills this
nation. As we perform our meditation
this week let us begin by re-energizing the brilliance and power of the light
we create. Just as before, begin by
forming a concentrated ball of light that is so bright it is almost impossible
to look directly at it. Raise this
sphere of light up high over the nation and then let its rays cascade down to
create a solid, impenetrable dome of light that completely covers every inch of
our country. From shore to shore and
border to border let the entire continent be filled with this brilliant, dense
light that will serve to magnify the best and highest qualities of our country
and the people who live across its vast lands.
Please follow the same practice as before: Get centered in
your body, ask to bring in your guides and others who are there to assist us
and connect to the circle of others participating in this project.
Ask yourself what do I feel in my body when I have felt
encouraged and supported by an online Community
of friends? How does it feel in my body 1when I recognize the importance
of a sense of Community, even a
virtual one, to our sense of connection to each other? Then send the
energy and intention of those feelings to the nation.
Be sure to disconnect from the circle at the end and express
thanks for those who have helped us in this effort.
If you have feedback or experiences you would like to share
please let me know via e-mail to kmiritello@gmail.com
If you or someone you
know may be considering ending a life via suicide please call the National
Suicide Prevention Hotline at 1-800-273-8255 and speak with someone who wants
to help.
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