And the Light Shines Brighter . . .

Walking up to the box office of Albuquerque’s Century Rio 24 theaters yesterday afternoon to see The Dark Knight Rises, I noticed something new. Taped to the inside of the glass window next to the cashier was a sign: No firearms allowed. Random thoughts flowed through my mind. How effective can that be? Who would heed its call? Later I thought it was like closing the barn door after the horse is gone. Then I realized someone wanted to do something, to make a difference, to keep people safe. They cared. And they were not alone.

I treated myself to popcorn and a drink. Juggling my purse, my cane, a bag of popcorn and the drink, I scuttled sideways down the row, past seated people, to my chosen seat. A woman one vacant seat away on my left pulled down the cup-holder armrest for me. She then placed my drink in it, helping me get settled. Next, she asked if I’d like a napkin for my popcorn. Then she gave me one. Laughingly, I said, “I sure picked the right place to sit!” At the end of the movie, she asked, “What did you think? Did you like it?” Then she checked to see if I needed any help with getting up or leaving. After sitting for almost three hours, I was stiff and dropped my cane. A young woman in the row behind me retrieved it and handed it to me on her way out. It was remarkable. I had never been treated that way at a movie before. I was so aware of the stark contrast between my experience and that of those attending the premiere in Aurora. Was my experience a result of Aurora? I think so. People around me loved me, cared for me, nurtured me, supported me, reached out to me. We were not strangers. We were caring human beings expressing our best to each other. How many others have made the same choice? If Aurora contributed to this change in the way people treat one another, then tremendous good has come from it.

Jordan Ghawi, whose sister died in Aurora, urged people to choose consciously where they put their attention. People in the theater with me clearly chose to place theirs on being kind, being loving, helping others, connecting, making a contribution. This opportunity, this choice, is available to each one of us every day in all we do. In each encounter with another person, we decide what the  nature of that encounter will be. Grocery store checkers. Post office employees. Gas station attendants. There are endless opportunities each day to practice what Sathya Sai Baba said:

There is only one religion, the religion of Love.

There is only one language, the language of the Heart.

We don’t have to do big things to make a difference. One little thing makes the light shine brighter. Each choice we make from love, multiplied by all of us, moves us closer to the critical mass which will shift our world into a new way of being, a way of being centered on light and love. That is the power of community. It’s unstoppable. It’s our own “Arab Spring.”

In his interview with Piers Morgan this week, Michael Moore said, “It’s time to rise up.” Rise UP. It’s time to lift our consciousness, not to treat each other violently, without caring, any more. With every person we meet, rise up. Be part of the tsunami of change we want to see in the world. With each loving decision, each loving action, no matter how small, we add to the light. And it shines brighter.