This Week's Quotation:
"Even in the midst of all the chaos, I carry within me a little peace, and I can bring it to others."
—Etty Hillesum
Grace in Chaos
Rev. Berry Behr, Interfaith Minister
The United Nations’ World Interfaith Harmony Week (WIHW) arrives each year like a quiet bell in the midst of noise—a gentle invitation to remember that peace is possible, and that it begins far closer than we think. It is born in the most sovereign space we inhabit: the choices we make, moment by moment, wherever we are.
This week I created a short video for the Religions for Peace Global Interfaith Youth Network, who are marking WIHW with a campaign against hate speech. Their aim is to remind humanity that words matter. Speech can wound, divide, inflame—but it can also heal. Harmony begins when we refuse to participate in the language of hatred, choosing instead the slow dignity of compassion.
EDL’s contribution to WIHW is a global call to the simple ritual of holding mindful silence for two minutes at noon every day. It’s a ritual that bridges nations, traditions, and time itself. Two minutes seems so small, yet it is an extraordinary act of collective restraint: a daily choice to pause, honor, feel, and belong to something deeper than reaction.
In a conversation on Auriol Hays’ podcast Behind Closed Doors, she asked me how one moves through a “dark night of the soul.” My answer was simple: one breath at a time.
When prayer feels inaccessible, when meditation feels too distant, when the heart cannot reach for concepts that once brought comfort—we can still breathe. Just one minute a day of slow, conscious breath can begin to re-regulate the nervous system. It is a doorway back into presence. A small act of grace in chaos.
We also spoke of death and how we accompany others through loss even when we do not share the same beliefs. I have learned to speak in a language people can hear—to honor their personal framework while quietly holding my own: that life continues, that energy is not destroyed, only transformed, and that beneath all our separations we belong to a deeper One-ness with the universe itself.
World Interfaith Harmony Week asks us to refocus: to tear our mesmerized brains away from images of violence and separation, and to practice choices for unified peace in speech, in silence, in action, and in thought. Peace is born inside the human soul and radiates outward, one encounter at a time.
Two minutes a day. Infinite possibility.
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.
Two minutes a day. Infinite possibility.
It feels amazing when we learn, or we remember – that the above statement is one of those Gifts of Knowing and Learning that bring us peace and grace. Thank you!!!
That’s terrific, Rev. Behr. TWO MINUTES is eternity in spiritual terms. Thank you. “One breathe at a time” makes sense. When asked about how to solve Africa’s and the world’s many problems, Archbishop Desmund Tutu quoted some African lore: “How do you eat an elephant?” He answered “One bite at a time.” Let’s take life one moment at a time and pour our love into each moment. THANK YOU, Rev. Behr and all those participating in personal peace and global harmony. Aloha from Oahu, Tom C.
We have been hit with a number of power shutdowns here on Sunrise Ranch in recent days. It has been quite challenging. But yes, Berry, we can still breathe. I would breathe in LOVE and breathe out BLESSING 24/7, bringing harmony to my world.