Fisherman on water and rocks near Dauphin Island, photographed June 11, 2010
Simon was a fisherman. Like Simon many of us have job titles too. But we’re more than that. When the fish seemed gone, Simon had an amazing friend who said that from now on he would be a fisher of people. Simon asked his friend to leave him, but his friend assured him that nothing could keep him from being who Simon was meant to be.
About a week before the Deep Water Horizon oil explosion I had a dream. In the dream, I was at a meeting where we were all asked to introduce ourselves. When it was my turn, I went through various job titles I had held in the past and sat down. But the person leading the meeting responded, “That so lame!” because I was so much more than that. Her words did not make me feel bad at all, but rather I felt like a new chapter in my life was about to open.
The impact of the dream woke me. Sitting up I realized clearly that Life is about everyone. God is in love with each person. Each of us is needed. Each person has a mission! I realized that to avert disasters, we have to work hard, we can’t stay lame, we need to be real, who we are, who we are meant to be. Each of us defines this for ourselves, together we need to heal ourselves, heal the world. Now is the time. Act.
Of course, we feel shackled, lame, powerless … at times. We wonder “How can we do what we’re supposed to do?” But children seem to get at the heart of the matter often. “Momma, we need to stop picking up shells and pick up oil.” “How are we going to save all the sea animals?” In spite of the storms around us, each of us is called to make everything we touch better, we are called not only to walk, but to walk on water … to walk according to what is imperishable within us.
Thousands of people last year were walking the beaches of Dauphin Island and other Gulf Coast locations. The oil eruption continues to flow while the flow of people to our beaches has all but stopped. An upcoming event may change that at least for one day.
Hands across the Sand is an event for people who want to say “No” to off-shore drilling and “Yes” to cleaner energy alternatives. It’s not for everybody. But for those who support this message it is a collective opportunity to make their voices heard.
On June 26, across the United States, in over 30 states, Hands across the Sand events will take place. On Dauphin Island, people will begin gathering at the public beach around 11:00 AM and will join hands for 15 minutes at 12:00 noon. The Dauphin Island event will proceed as planned unless the public beach is closed to the public at that time.
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