Dawn Begins at Midnight

“Dawn begins at midnight.”* Aurora was the ancient Roman goddess of dawn. In Aurora, Colorado, site of the largest massacre in American history, shortly after midnight in a darkened theater, the light of dawn began to arrive. It shined through those who shielded others with their bodies, saving their lives through love. It shined through the wounded in hospital beds who, incredibly, had already reached a state of forgiveness or said with time they would. It shined through those who empathized with the suspect’s family, recognizing their pain too. The root of “aurora ” is “to shine.”

Jordan Ghawi, brother of Jessica, the 24-year-old aspiring sportscaster who died in the theater shooting, urged the public to focus on the victims rather than the suspect. He told Don Lemon on CNN his family chose not to go to court today. They have consciously chosen to put their attention on Jessica and the others who died and to withhold their attention from the accused. Jordan and his family are now focused on creating a celebration of life ceremony for Jessica. This is the dawn. The coming of the light. Conscious choosing. “Where your attention goes, your energy flows, and the result shows.”* Where will we place our attention? What will we feed with our energy? Aurora shines light on the possibility of choosing where we place our attention. Jordan Ghawi is modeling that possibility for us.

What is going on? Deaths from record-breaking heat. Floods. Power outages. Euro crisis. Syrian genocide. Financial debacles (pick one). Sandusky. Aurora massacre. “Things fall apart before they fall together,” said Tery Cole-Whittaker, author and metaphysical minister. We certainly are witnessing that, not only macrocosmically, but also microcosmically in our own personal lives. Friends and family in emergency rooms, financial challenges, grieving lost loved ones. And more. Almost unbearably more at times. This can leave us feeling helpless and powerless. Or, like Theodore Roethke, we can know, “In dark times the eye begins to see.” We can see our attention does make a difference. We can see it’s our choice how we respond to what happens. We can see our energy creates what we want in the world. We can be the change. We can choose love over fear. In doing so, we are contributing to the critical mass that will shift our planet into a new paradigm of love, light and oneness. But it takes faith. Faith that our energized intentions, as yet unseen, will take physical form.   

Today my second morning glory bloomed. The first one arrived a few days ago. There were over thirty blooms this morning on the “morning glory fence” my neighbor Betsy and I share. The seeds she gave me for my garden were planted later than hers. Two months ago they were small black specks. I soaked them in water overnight to encourage germination. Placed in planters filled with potting soil next to trellises, they were watered both morning and night on blistering hot New Mexico days. For sixty days. One hundred and twenty times, though there was nothing there, I showed up with my energy, intention and faith to water them. Vines grew and twined. Now six-feet tall, covering the garden fences, they have finally produced two deep-purple morning glory blooms. I believed in the blooms when none were there. I continued believing, even when something, maybe grasshoppers, ate holes in their leaves. No matter what I am creating in my life, a beautiful garden, a book, world peace, the process is the same. I must believe in the unseen and continue to flow my energy, attention and love into it until it becomes the seen. Charles Fillmore, founder of Unity, wrote, “Faith in the reality, power and willingness of the mental and spiritual forces is absolutely necessary to one who expects to succeed in demonstrating the higher law.” For me, faith is an action. It opens the way to realizing our highest good, both individually and collectively. Charles A. Beard said, “When it’s dark enough, you can see the stars.” My deepest appreciation to all those stars in Aurora for shining their light in the darkness in service to us all, for showing us how to shine, for showing us “dawn begins at midnight.”

*Please note: I’ve been unable to identify definitively the source of these quotations. Any assistance will be greatly appreciated.