"Hatsat Abiola, a Nigerian activist, says to us: 'Guard your light and protect it. Move it forward into the world and be fully confident that if we connect light to light to light, and join the lights together of the one billion young people in our world today, we will be enough to set our whole planet aglow.' Blessing is a way of joining our lights together. I personally believe that the number needed to move the world is much smaller — maybe a few million really committed spiritual thinkers. So today, our blessings will be for those who still believe themselves to be the world movers, the political leaders of the world.

"We bless our leaders that wisdom rather than narrow interests or fear may guide their decisions.

"We bless them in their ability to move beyond the narrow confines of nation, class, creed, race or narrow financial or economic concerns.

"We bless them in their desire to put the service of mankind and their nations before their thirst for prestige or power. We bless them in their ability to put the care of Mother Earth and the environment before short-term planning and purely economic motives.

"We bless them in their authentic compassion that they may be sensitive to the needs of the downtrodden and the marginalized.

"We bless them that, despite all the judgments, the prejudices concerning them with which we too often hold them captives, they may be sensitive to the winds of grace which blow freely for all those who hoist their sails.

"And finally, we bless ourselves in our ability to hold on to their divine image that too often remains cloistered in their hearts that it may find expression in political courage, deep caring for the outcasts of society and decisive action for the reconciliation of man and nature.

"P.S. To help you make this blessing more real, may I suggest that you think of three politicians who are your favorite scapegoats and that you visualize and bless them in three qualities they express. And even if you can only think of a single quality, congratulations, that is a good start.