The pastor asked why we don't ask for the gift of world peace when we have a chance to. Why don't we go for the whole enchilada? We don't. We settle.
Years ago, hiking up a ridgeline in fog, I could see what I thought was the top of the ridge, only to find that there was another higher point. After a couple disappointments I stopped believing, and focused on the next section. When I reached the top it came as a surprise as I thought I would never get there.
I wish for world peace. I would like to have a world where people aren't obsessed with the desire to hurt, or kill people and our beliefs would all be respected.
The sad reality is that life stands in the way of that belief. I no longer believe that it is possible. While I may desire it, it will not happen today, and I'm pretty sure, not in my life time.
I am a cynic. What stops me from wishing for world peace is the bomb that went off on a Bagdad street, and a little child in the ER, sporting bruises from an angry parent. I struggle to believe when I see the elderly lose their retirement to a scam artist, and a business acting unethically to squeeze bigger profits from their unsuspecting customers.
World peace is big. I don't know if my belief is that big. Perhaps I should practice prolepsis, acting as if it has already happened. If I'm honest, I am afraid that if I act that way, others may think that I have lost touch with reality.
An even bigger fear is is that I will think that about myself.
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