Aloha,

I began writing my post for today about Hinduism and then noticed the date, September 11th.  I still vividly remember waking up that day and checking my e-mails. For some reason, my e-mail program had developed a quirk; it would first show me the major news headlines for the day and then give me my e-mails. Since I live in Hawaii the two towers had fallen hours before I got up. I turned on the TV and sadly watched the news. People were already beginning to beat the war drums and talk about more violence. I felt moved to write a letter to the editor for the first time in my life and both papers published it.

What most struck me about September 11th was the power fear has to evoke violence. This wasn’t the first time Islam and Christianity had gone to war. The Crusades decimated many countries.  My thought was, how could two religions, based on honoring God, be used to as an excuse to kill? The answer was certainly fear and definitely not love! I knew all the angels were busy that day.

I don’t have the original letter, but it went something like this:

I am deeply saddened by the events of September 11th.  So many people were killed. My thoughts and my prayers go out to all the families affected by this horrific event. I grew up in NYC and remember when the Twin Towers were built. My grandmother had worked for over twenty years in the Empire State Building and was very angry they were going to build taller buildings.

I went on to talk about the idea of viewing life from a place of dominion instead of domination, and I said that I hoped people would open up their hearts and their minds and pray for the terrorists and the families they left behind. I suggested that love would be more likely to create peace than more violence, anger, and fear.

At six o’clock in the morning on the day the letters were published, my phone began to ring. I got numerous angry phone calls, a few from some peace groups and one from a man who threatened to kill me. In that moment I had a choice, to go to a place of fear and call the police or stay in a place of love and send prayers and love his way. I chose love. A few days later, I got a call from the same man apologizing. He said he had read the Bible and realized I was right. He went on to to say he was ashamed of himself, and I suggested he be proud of himself because it took a lot of courage to change his beliefs and call me back.

Life is full of evidence of both the power of fear and love. Whatever we focus our attention on, we get more of, so the question is: do you want your world to be more full of love or fear? Angels only know how to love; they never judge and are always willing to lift us up so we can see life from their glorious perspective.

I love to imagine the entire world surrounded by angels, all holding hands, sending everyone love. I wonder what would happen if we all held that image for a few minutes each day?

Sending you all the love of the angels,
Susan

Read more Fearless Fridays:
• 5 Ways Fear Can Improve Your Life
• 7 Ways to Overcome Fear
• Inspirational Quotes on Fear
• View all Fearless Fridays posts