This is a Name* conversation courtesy the University of Spiritual Healing & Sufism. Chosen for Change banner was photographed in Ferguson, MO in 2016

The Helpers

There is a famous quote by Fred Rogers that describes what his mother would tell him when he was a child and saw scary news:

“My mother would say to me, ‘Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.’ To this day, especially in times of disaster, I remember my mother’s words, and I am always comforted by realizing that there are still so many helpers — so many caring people in this world.”

He was right: there are so many caring people in this world. So many people that crave peace, and healing. What do these helpers look like?

Many think of them traditionally as doctors, nurses, firefighters – those who swoop in an emergency and help to save, and mend a body. What we are realizing more and more each day, though, is the need for other kinds of assistance as well, the kind that can help mend the spirit.

The pain inside of one heart can expand as that person moves through, and into the world. What if there were helpers that could introduce healing to that heart? What world could we have if every heart could find peace the wing of Love?

We know it is not as easy as wishing it, but rather a path that is there for us to walk whenever we want. The helpers are there: they are us. As we heal, that mending moves out and grows into the world. Like a forest connected by the root, we truly are a network of hearts, feeling and moving together.

May we be the helpers, and walk together toward peace.

–Casey, USHS

*Name is the first of the Nine Principles for Loving Living.