5 Words. 150 Years. One Message.

Today and everyday awaken "the better angels of our nature."

From the last line of the last paragraph of Abraham Lincoln's first inaugural address delivered one hundred and fifty years ago March 4, 1861 as tensions between the North and South were exploding and Civil war was imminent.

"We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection. The mystic chords of memory, stretching from every battle-field, and patriot grave, to every living heart and hearthstone, all over this broad land, will yet swell the chorus of the Union, when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature." 

All great speeches share one common thread, there ability to divine the truth creating space for the eternal. The words may change. The times may be different, but, in the stirring of the heart a great speech gives birth to the openness of possibility and in that openness we are given a choice, a choice to be moved by a higher vibrational experience into action leading spirit ever forward with faith and grace extending love to all souls across the planet.

Because of his ability to stand in the face of insurmountable and daunting circumstances and deliver statements like "right makes might" because he was able to be a healing agent over a country deeply divided Lincoln has long captured the imagination of the world and the reasons why are obvious.

He was a true statesman.
He was a leader standing on the cusp of an uncertain future.

He was a researcher who understood a sense of the common defense.
He presided over a war that pitted brother against brother.
He attempted to tide the rift of a long fought battle and seemingly overwhelming differences of opinion.
He delivered the United States into a new era.

Let's Remember Together. To any problem perceived or otherwise Love remains the answer and peace is our responsibility.

Any student of history will tell you that American is made up of the most diverse collection of races, religions, beliefs and peoples. Why? America was the new land, holding the promise of a new age, it remained the last melting plot available on our precious planet to leave behind the oppressions of tyranny. But, as anyone who has ever had to face their demons or "train their dragon" will tell you, running from your fears or the fears of the collective does not make them go away. Fears exist to be met and faced and understood so they can be freed from ruling our unconsciousness behaviors.

Because we live in the land of the free and the home of the brave does not mean we do not have to practice what we preach, that we are not suffering from the afflictions of humanity, that we didn't murder, and oppress, and cheat and steal, that we didn't make decisions that were based in personal fears.  Freedom is a discipline we apply everyday because every man brings with him and plays host to his own terrors projecting those terrors into the consciousness of a society. It is each individuals personal journey to transcend beyond these lower thinking forms exercising bravery in the quest to be free, rising above the battlefield and baring witness to the truth.

While our history has blemishes that we continue to atone for; the slaughter of the Native Americans, the entitled slavery of a beautiful race of people, women's suffrage, civil rights, bank oligopoly, corporate raiding, seething greed, there is one thing that remains constant --- faith in the "better angels of our nature." A space where whatever unjust, not right minded human afflictions are taking place that we are willing to see the truth and hold the space for new possibilities, to look at things in a different way, to argue yes, but then to see the light and be a clear and present source and beacon of truth so this mass collection of "discordant elements" as William Wordsworth stated could "move in one society." One society embracing each others differences in love and opening to the highest possibilities of peace for all humanity.

Getting a little biblical (and who doesn't love the bible)-- from the Sermon on the Mount. "Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock." 

You can build your house on the rock of truth or the sand of your fear.  We are all blessed with a choice. In making a choice between the two in a stance of honesty and Love I invite you to consider how your actions to yourself and others will affect your own personal sense of peace. 

Actions always have consequences. Make your actions count. When the scripture says "Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall." It speaks directly to the emotions that create the rubble of our lives. Let go of the pride and ask yourself "If I look at this situation with Love what is the truth?"

In all the drafts of his speech Abraham Lincoln included a confrontational pointedly aggressive statement addressed at the South that he removed when he delivered the speech. The final line of the Inaugural was to have read....

"Shall it be peace or sword?

Either way the result remains the same - the truth will shine through. The choice is yours. 

5 Words. 150 Years. One Message.

AWAKEN
"THE BETTER ANGELS OF OUR NATURE"

Compassionate positioning means creating a stance where you are able to be in a space of compassion and Love and look into the eyes of those who are suffering and feel their suffering without losing your center. When you know your own center, you are in stillness with the truest space of your being allowing you to understand in every situation the space you are holding, and from that space you remember your job is to extend Love. You are not taking on another’s karma, you are merely dealing with your own, and in your knowing of this one detail, you allow other people to grow into their knowing.

Move into the experience of full and equal human rights around the planet. Move into the "angels of our better nature" and rewrite any operating manual that isn’t based in Love, that doesn’t include a daily practice of acceptance of yourself and those around you.

May you enjoy peace of mind, love and harmony with the past present and future, creating space for what is next.

***Excerpted from Melanie Lutz presents LOVE LAND.

Check out the full text of Abraham Lincoln's Inaugural Address

Lincoln's First Inaugural Address (Top Treasure): American Treasures of the Library of Congress

Past Mel Post - sourcing this post....

http://alwaysalice.blogspot.com/2010/08/few-of-my-favorite-things.html

Melanie Lutz is a screenwriter, author and all around magnificent woman. Her upcoming book  LOVE LAND is a collection of essays and ideas to open your heart WITH LOVE. For more information check http://www.melanielutz.com/ and http://www.alwaysalice.com/