Make a stand kneeling

On this path effort never goes to waste, and there is no failure. Even a little effort toward spiritual awareness will yield protection from the greatest fear. Those who follow this path, Arjuna, who resolve deep within themselves to seek Me alone, attain singleness of purpose. For those who lack this resolution, the decisions of life are many-branched and endless. ---The Bhagavad Gita, 2.40-41

The sun rose at 5:47 a.m. The newspaper informed me of this with arcane precision after the fact. Earlier, the songbirds had announced the coming dawn, gently awakening me through the open window. I rose and experienced the sunrise, holding it up to neither measurement nor schedule. I began my day with centering prayer. This made all the difference.

Prayer-birthed singleness of purpose vaccinates against the world's shallow, chaotic urgencies. But be forewarned, it replaces that shrill emptiness with a haunting, often painful oneness.

Singleness of purpose allows me to see clearly the consuming fear that spurs macho-bravado commanders-in-chief, myopic political strategists, and sinful religious zealots. Far more importantly, it betrays my own hypocrisy.

Singleness of purpose reveals the pro-life vs. pro-choice debate as the coward's way of ducking battle with our brutal economy and hyper-sexualized culture. It proves my copy of An Inconvenient Truth on the passenger seat of the minivan is mere cover for my own oil addiction. It points out my calls for gun control as the high-fenced, eight-lane bypass speeding me safely past unmet neighbors in trouble.

Singleness of purpose inspires me to fully engage fighting children, focusing on underlying causes rather than my shattered illusion of calm, addressing their unmet needs as my own. Thus grows holy peace: The small child sees her family as her world. The well-raised Child of God experiences the world as her family.