Spirit of all that moves among us and through us:
As elections near,
help us to let love lead.
Help us recognize that polarization
can also be understood as passion:
Passion to build something better
that holds all of us at the center.
Help us to imagine and to foster
a world in which we listen more than we talk,
where our priority is to learn as much as teach;
A world in which we find ways to connect
across the chasms of difference,
making space for revelation to emerge.
Spirit of love,
help us turn toward love
with the world, with each other, with ourselves—
all the same thing, at its core.
Let us extend grace
within our movements and between our movements:
Less sure, more curious,
wondering, together, what is possible.
Spirit of all that is open and hopeful,
guide us in building a larger tent:
Not solely Republican or Democrat,
Independent or Uncommitted.
Let us learn, too, from our ancestors:
From generational pain
and generational survival,
the movement of generations
building across difference
something better, larger, more encompassing
that can hold us all.
Let us be not just flags,
potent though they are in declaring our beliefs,
and yet impeding our ability to recognize humanity
across differences.
Spirit of hope,
Spirit of all that is yet possible,
lead us away from the false separation
that the only truth is ours; that anything less is incomplete.
Lead us instead into the discomfort of learning
from youth,
young adults,
activists,
elders,
those we cherish,
those we find wanting.
Lead us to the love that holds us all and is with us always;
The love that can help us through
the messy and necessary life-altering work
of building movements across beliefs, across difference,
for change that can endure.
May it be so.