Friday, October 26, 2012

Please Stop

I'm not sure If I've ever told you who one of my heroes are. Just in case I haven't his name is Mattie Stepanek. Mattie was born with an incurable form of muscular dystrophy called dysautonomic mitochondrial myopathy. The disease slowly took away all of Mattie's muscle control until one day he could no longer breathe on his own. Mattie passed away at the age of 14. 

Mattie is one of my heroes because along the journey of his life he found ways to overcome his abilities and bring a new, positive view of life to everyone he met. Mattie is probably best known for the poems he wrote. His poems are filled with insight, acceptance and true love of self and others people 4 times his age are just beginning to understand.

It's in one of Mattie's poems I found myself launching through a wall that had previously stopped me from understanding how best to bring peace to the world. So, in the place in which we find ourselves today, when it seems to me that the world is becoming more and more divisive, I want to share that poem with you.


For Our World We need to stop.
Just stop.
Stop for a moment...
Before anybody
Says or does anything
That may hurt anyone else.
We need to be silent.
Just silent.
Silent for a moment...
Before we forever lose
The blessing of songs
That grow in our hearts.
We need to notice.
Just notice.
Notice for a moment...
Before the future slips away
Into ashes and dust of humility.
Stop, be silent, and notice...
In so many ways, we are the same.
Our differences are unique treasures.
We have, we are, a mosaic of gifts
To nurture, to offer, to accept.
We need to be.
Just be.
Be for a moment...
Kind and gentle, innocent and trusting
Like children and lambs,
Never judging or vengeful
Like the judging and vengeful.
And now, let us pray,
Differently, yet together,
Before there is no earth, no life,
No chance for peace. 

Words from an 11-year old man who just wanted it all to stop. Mattie said that his life's goal is to be a peacemaker.Why don't we do our best today to help Mattie achieve his dream of making peace in our world a reality.

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