"Jesus taught that we should bless those that curse us (Lk. 6:28). When we send words out into the world — even angry words directed at other motorists who can't hear us in their insulated cars ( I gently remind my husband) — it still matters. And conversely, when we consciously seek to love our enemies rather than curse them, no matter what they have done to us, something is changed in the universe.
"It is like a spiritual 'butterfly effect.' It is said that a butterfly fluttering its wings in Africa can cause an avalanche in the Alps. Love's avalanche can start with as small a movement as the stirring of our heart toward someone else, in forgiveness and compassion. Novelist Madeleine L' Engle once likened forgiveness to a little goldfish wiggling its tail. That isn't much measurable life, but it's enough to indicate that there is hope. Even the slightest movement toward God or another person can always grow and swell into a heart full of love and healing.
"How does anything wonderful begin? We need whimsical examples sometimes to wake us up to the very simplest of truths. Children know that a smile can work wonders. We forget this, and our fixed, worried adult expressions simply engender more tension and create more separations between us in the world.
"The author J. M. Barrie (1860-1937), Peter Pan's creator, must have known something about the power of blessing (not to mention flying). He has his famous forever-child Peter Pan say, 'When the first baby laughed for the first time, the laugh broke into a thousand pieces and they all went skipping about, and that was the beginning of fairies.' Can you think of a better explanation? A butterfly, a goldfish, a child's laugh — who can estimate their power?”
