The images are etched in our hearts and minds. Many of us remember exactly where we were, what we were doing and who we were with when heard, saw and watched the tragedy of September 11, 2001 unfold. As fire spread through the doomed towers and the Pentagon, so did the words “America is under attack.” Many of us were watching television screens as the twin towers began to fall, knowing many were still trapped within the crumbling walls; a little part of ourselves seemed to die with the victims. And next we asked. How could this happen, God?
Yes, God, how could this happen? It is the same question we utter when we look at a dwindling balance in our checking account and realize, some bill may not get paid this month, or our child won’t get that new pair of sneakers after all. It is the same question we utter when the doctor calls with lab reports that do not reflect the reality of the what we believe to be our health. The words spring from us as we hear the news that a loved one has passed, a friend is gone, another child is missing, another woman is dead due to domestic violence or another college campus has seen bloodshed. Where was God? How could God allow this to happen?
There are those who will believe and say that tragedy, pain and suffering are the result of evil and the natural consequence of those who have not turned their life over to God. Others will tell you it is a result of a negative thinking, a manifestation of a collective consciousness riddled with thoughts of doom, lack and limitation. Each answer, and others like them, feel a bit like metaphysical malpractice. Blaming the victim is not the answer, and as to the question where “God” was is in all of life’s challenges, I offer, Spirit is right there, in the midst of it all.
Too often when we are facing a challenge we lose sight of the Divine. We become absorbed in the chaos of the moment, the horror of the situation and disbelief that we are face to face with another challenge or trauma. We become overwhelmed. We must place blame somewhere, and God becomes the natural choice. We cry out and beseech the Almighty Creator for assistance, at the same time shaking our finger at some unspecified point in the sky and laying blame for the catastrophe at our feet.
What if nothing is to blame? If we consider that we are spiritual beings having a human experience and we have been given free will by the Creator of all, it would make sense on some level. As co-creators with God, we do call forth our realities on many levels. It was Charles Fillmore who reminded us that “Thoughts held in mind produce after their kind.” If we look at it this way, thoughts of lack and limitation for instance, may well manifest as a 0 balance checking account or loss of income. Does this mean then, that we or God is to blame? Both–and–neither might well be the answer.
God has given us the gift of freedom, and freedom of thought. It is what we chose to do with our Divine inheritance that sets the stage. Still not all thought is “ours” in the sense that we are a part of a larger collective consciousness. From birth we are taught the “ways of our people.” We learn at the feet of our parents ways of thinking that have been handed from generation to generation. We see a world that believes certain truths and buy into those, and make them our own. And for many we buy into what may be the biggest “sin” of all; separation from God.
We see God as “out there”. The depiction of a gray bearded angry man, pointing his finger in rage at His creation is a common theme for many. We point in anger at the sky when things go wrong, because that is where we imagine this illusive “God” to be. Yet, if we are creations of the Divine, then does it not also make sense that the essence of the divine resides within all of Its creations, even us? Much the same as your parent’s DNA is within you, so is the DNA of your first creator. Why then do we look outside ourselves and wonder where God has gone?
God was there on September 11, 2001. On the burning floors, assisting those to safety whose time to leave the planet had not yet come, and extending a loving a hand to those who were ready to depart. God stood by the family members as they watched in horror or heard the news that there loved one was among the dead or missing. God was with you as you heard the news and helped us all stand strong.
The Creator of all does not leave when the doctor calls or a checks bounces. It is always there, ready to respond, guide and love. Ready to show you a better way, provide another resource, inspire with a Divine idea or simply be with you as the tears flow. In it all, God is a mere 18 inches away, from head to heart. If we take a moment, and go to that place deep within where the spark of light that is the Universe resides, we will know the peace, wisdom, and blessing that surrounds us always, even in the midst of tragedy.
