[I originally wrote this benediction on December 16, 2001 after months of feeling hopeless and powerless in the aftermath of the September 11 tragedy here in the United States. Like many people, I felt religion had a great deal to do with what had happened and I felt something must be done about religion itself. I was initially leaning more toward abandoning religion and its institutions altogether. After much prayer and reflection, I realized that religion doesn't need to be rejected; it needs to be injected with more intelligence and compassion than we have ever given it in the past. It doesn't need to be abandoned; it needs to be upgraded. -- RTS]
My dear Family,
Once again time finds us on the brink of a new year. Though I have stumbled and fumbled in finding hope in the past few years, I am once again refreshed and renewed at the prospect of what lies ahead.
Our capacity to build a more humane way of life has never shone more clearly than in these shadowy times when the world is so at odds with itself. I am not speaking of grand gestures that we believe will sweep the soot and soil off the face of civilizations. I am speaking of far more modest moments. I am speaking of people, individuals, you and me. I am speaking of the decisions we make.
The decision to live in courage or to die slowly in fear is one we make everyday. The decision to awaken to creativity or to sleep in complacency is one we make every hour. The decision to grow in faith or to decay in doubt is one we make every minute. The decision to be happy or to be miserable is one we make every second.
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