What Can You Imagine?

Rev. Suzan Bailey

Can you see it? Can you, today, right now, imagine a world like the one described in the inspired song, “Imagine,” by John Lennon? Can you imagine setting aside those things that separate us like religion, money, gender, life style, skin color, and see us all living in harmony, living in a world with no hunger, no greed, sharing the good that was intended for every one of us? Can you imagine that there is nothing to kill or die for? Nothing that divides us?

Until we can imagine it, it will not happen. Only when we can first imagine a peaceful world more often than we imagine a world of lack, separation and fear, will it appear. What we give our attention to fills our minds and thus our world. When peace fills us we will live in a peaceful world. So today, right now, what can you imagine?

We all have heroes whose messages have been equal rights, compassion, community and peace. Being a child of the 60’s, I have lots of them like John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King Jr., Gandhi, Mother Teresa, the Dali Lama and, of course, the Beatles. Every culture, religion, sect and society has these same kinds of heroes, people who imagined for us a world of brotherly and sisterly love.

Our heroes were people who believed that it could be done, who believed that we could do it. They taught us or showed us how we can work together to create something greater. They knew that each one of us has within us all that is needed to transform hatred into love, poverty into abundance, disease into wholeness, separation into oneness. Today, right now, what can you imagine? It is time that we become the heroes and lead our communities to greater wholeness, to understand that the power is in us.

We can no longer allow the media to feed our fears and keep us afraid of each other by focusing on the behavior of a few. We can no longer depend on our politicians, our spiritual leaders, or our educators to build the world we want. We can no longer blame them for what is or is not happening. There is no one else to blame for what we see going on in our world except the person standing in our shoes.

We have good minds, good hearts, good hands, and together we can use them to help each other have good lives. It is no accident that we are all here together, looking different, thinking differently, worshiping differently, eating differently, dancing differently, dressing differently, living different life styles―men, women, children. What a boring world it would be if everyone was like me or you. Despite all our outer differences, only when we work together will we all get the world we desire.

There lives in each one of us a spirit of hope, a spirit of love, a hero. How do we tap into that spirit and use it to melt away the barriers between us?

First and most important, we imagine. Without this first step we will never accomplish the others. So when we wake up every morning and before we get out of our beds we imagine that today we will make a positive impact in our world. We say to ourselves, “Today I will make a difference.” Say it with me:“Today I will make a difference.” Then we imagine the world we will encounter, filled with people just like us, wanting to be loved, wanting fulfilling relationships, wanting a home and enough food and medical care, wanting an education, a job, wanting to be part of a peaceful world, just like we do.

Second, get to know your neighbors. And who are our neighbors? Everyone is our neighbor, not just the person next door, but the person across town is our neighbor, the person across the world. If we share this city, this planet, this government, these streets, parks, schools, stores, places of worship, we are all certainly neighbors. Turn to someone you don’t know, hold out your hand and introduce yourself.

It is up to you and me to unite with our neighbors for the common good instead of uniting against our neighbors for our own personal good. We are all in this together. Are you a good neighbor?

What are some of the things we can do to become a good neighbor? We can start by educating ourselves, by getting to know people that we have perceived as different from us. We can join community groups like the one putting on this picnic today, the Brevard Multicultural Council.

We can visit places of worship other than our own; get involved in community projects; and volunteer at a school, a hospital, a community organization―any place where people gather. We can attend festivals. Right here in this community, we are blessed to have many diverse ethnic and religious festivals.

And most important, listen to people wherever you go. Talk to them and ask questions, with the intention of really wanting to know them. Standing in line at the store, sitting in the doctor’s office, at the laundromat, everywhere we go, we have the opportunity to meet someone new. Find out about their lives, what they believe, what they hold dear, what they do for fun, what we have in common today. Right now, what can you imagine?

Third, let go of the past, and forgive others. Forgive whites, blacks, Muslims, Christians, men, women, murderers, anyone or any group we believe has done us wrong. We must forgive and free them and ourselves from the bondage of our anger and the need to be right. Each day we begin again. Each moment we have the opportunity to change our minds, our lives. Give yourself and others the freedom to begin again.

Fourth, stand up for what is right. Take a stand for someone else, for those who are different. Taking a stand for someone else takes courage. When we see discrimination, when we see the rights of others slighted, when some segments of our society do not receive their fair share, it hurts all of us, so it is up to each one of us to take a stand. Be willing to speak the truth. Get involved and stay informed. Keep our leaders accountable. We are all in this together today, right here and now. What can you imagine?

Each one of us is of priceless value to this community. Each one of us has something unique to offer. Each one of us is a world leader and a hero. A world that works for all of us is not a difficult thing to accomplish. The difficulty lies in our minds. The difficulty is changing our attitudes, our minds and hearts. If we can imagine it, we can create it. Can you begin imagining a new world today? Take the hand of the hero next to you and let’s sing along with the song, “Imagine,” one more time. Maybe you want to close your eyes and see the world you imagine.

In the words of the great Mahatma Gandhi, “You must be the change you want to see in the world.”

Namaste