So much violence permeates our world and our lives. The most violent hits the media and nightly news on a daily basis, but many of us have been victims at one time or another, some in small and others in not such small ways. All of these events are devastating. Many lives are changed forever, often living in fear or hopelessness. Others didn’t survive.
Over the years that violence has permeated our lives to such an extent that hopeless can take hold of us, almost without our realizing it. But wait, what if it could be different? We can never undo what has been done, but what would happen if there was a way out; a way to change the way people behave toward one another.
If each of us made a commitment to do ‘a random act of kindness’ toward a stranger, every chance we get, I can only begin to imagine what an impact each of us might have on changing the world. I challenge us to give it a try. It might just change our lives.
If St. Francis did, why can’t we?
