This Week's Quotation:
My humanity is bound up in yours, for we can only be human together.
~ Desmond Tutu
Blessings of Unity
Terri McCartney
I’ve found that breaking the habits of disconnection involves a steady effort to undo all the acclimation to a paradigm of separation. The challenge is those habits can be deeply subconscious. I understand how challenging it is to bring love to any expression if it is seen as separate from ourselves. No way I’d ever do that!
Yet I’ve come to see that developing compassion for all expressions of hell ultimately serves the purpose of remembering heaven. Hell is the experience of disconnection and separation and heaven is the experience of connecting and belonging.
As we bring compassion and forgiveness to our own experiences of hell—trauma, neglect, abuse, judgment, guilt, unworthiness, shame, isolation—we re-know those experiences. We can see that at their root, all unloving expressions are a call to belong and to be seen and loved. Once we can give that purity of love to ourselves, we are then able to extend it to all the cries for love in our world.
As a living blessing in our world, we express what we are for instead of fueling the fire of separation by taking stances of opposition. We become a member of the global movement of love in action, bringing love anywhere it appears to have forgotten itself. We give our best to express the highest vibrational love tone available to us in any circumstance.
And when we fall short, (as we all do on occasion!) we must bring loving compassion to that too. I like to laugh about it from the perspective of divine entertainment. After all, as Wavy Gravy coined in the 1960’s, We are all bozos on the bus. And the fun of it is that we are all in this together, supporting each other on this lively journey of remembering who we really are and bringing that totality to our humanity.
About Open Windows
We, the authors of this blog, dedicate it to the transparent exploration of the world's sacred scripture and enlightened spiritual thought. We believe that the original inspiration of all faiths comes from a common source, named and revered in a myriad of ways. With that understanding, the innumerable symbols, beliefs, and practices of faith cease to divide. They become open windows to a common reality that inspires and unifies us. We find deeper insight and nourishment in our own faith and from the expression of faith from others.
We hope these weekly quotations and meditations speak to your heart and soul.
As a living blessing in our world –
We become a member of the global movement of love in action –
And when we fall short, (as we all do on occasion!) we must bring loving compassion to that too…
Terri – each word in your blessed offering is a meaningful joy – the above are the ones I will be using for a new mantra – thank you!!!
Aha. Another friend has uplifted Wavy Gravy to spiritual sage status, I greet you, bozo to bozo 🙂 🙂 Totally with you, Terri, and with Tutu, and WITH humanity. We are saying that it takes us (plural) to realize me (singular) as we are all deeply connected whatever the appearances. WITH YOU in this. … and indeed we must be WITH each other after we are first WITH God. Loving thanks, Tom
It does no good to react to and blame ourselves for all of those evidences of disconnection that you mention, Terri (trauma, neglect, abuse, guilt, judgment, unworthiness, shame, isolation). It’s just a matter of easily and naturally letting them go and letting Love flow.
This article is inspirational, especially in consideration of all we see happening in the world we are gifted with. I have quoted these words as a reminder..”Bringing love anywhere it seems to have forgotten itself.”
Thank you Terri for these inspiring words of unity at the start of World Interfaith Harmony Week 2025. Thank you for reminding us that we bring the harmony – from the inside out, rather than seeking it outside ourselves first. Love, blessings and gratitude to you today and always!