Have you ever noticed that some of the wisest people seem to smile and laugh a lot? The Dalai Lama, Mister Rogers, and John Lewis just to name a few. A lot of people today eulogizing Congressman Lewis said he was full of joy, that people wanted to be around him whether or not they agreed with his political views. John McCain, for example, always makes me smile.
Please let me know in the comments if you can think of others, people who make you smile when you think about them.
So I asked the universe, “Why do some wise people seem to be so happy?”
John McCain: Come on, Annie, you just answered your own question. Because they have learned to see! They are not surrounded by dark. Dark doesn’t have a fighting chance against these folks. It's already taken a pretty good run at them and was set back on its ass.
Now I would never claim to have been enlightened - and I’m sure my acquaintances would agree with that assessment - but I did live through some of the darkest days that man has ever inflicted upon his fellows. came out the other side, and found that the light was there through it all. Let me tell you, my friends, if that doesn't make you smile i don't know what will.
We’ve seen the dark, yes, but we know the light to be brighter to be true, to be real. So we smile and lead our lives carrying that happy certainty with us all of our days.
Harriet Tubman: That’s right, Johnny boy. You ain’t seen nothing unless you seen it through the fires of hell, and once you seen how powerful that Grace of God is, you don’t sweat the small stuff anymore. That makes those of us who’s been through that hell happy to show you other folks that we all of us has already beat back the dark. Oh, it may come calling and may take on some mighty attractive disguises, but we won’t be fooled cause we know we can see where we’re going.
Robert Kennedy: Ann, I can’t say I mastered the conviction held by Auntie and the others here while I was living, but I saw what dark can do, and I saw how some of those who had suffered under the heavy yokes of oppression and poverty still managed to smile, to love, and to celebrate. With their shining examples before me, I dedicated myself to lifting some of their burdens so that they could be recognized for what they were, our true leaders, our guides, our salvation.
They may have been poor and trampled into the dust by greed and neglect, but they retained the joy of the Creator in their hearts. Just ask Martin, Elijah, and John Lewis.
Ann: Mr. Lewis. I cannot believe you have come here on this day of all days. I was brought to tears when your powerful words rolled out from the speakers at your memorial service in the Capital Rotunda. You challenged and comforted every one of us just as you did in your lifetime. Surely you have other people who need your presence now.
John Lewis. Yes, they do, Ann, and I am there for them in every instance where my name is called. You called my name. You reached out from your heart, and I want to answer that call by saying to you, to each one of you, that God is in his heaven, and, though all is not right with the world, he has given us the tools to make it so.
I will march at your side every step of the way, arm and arm with you and joined by Harriet, John, Elijah, Robert, Abe, and so many others. We will give you our joy, our knowledge of heaven to fuel your forward momentum. You cannot fail, for when you carry the vision of the Divine within your hearts, nothing will keep the smile from your face.
We are just the tip of the iceberg of God’s army. Join us, we’re the only game in town, and we have the most fun.
July 27, 2020