Rachel Corrie

This image of Rachel Corrie appeared on the cover of the Summer issue of Sarah van Gelder's YES! magazine. Sarah wrote of her editorially:

Some images are seared into the consciousness of a generation. The airplanes hitting the twin towers is one such image. The lone man standing in front of the column of tanks on its way to Tiananmen Square is an earlier one. For me, these will be joined by the image of Rachel Corrie, a 23-year-old college student, especially the blurry snapshots of Rachel standing in front of a bulldozer trying to protect the home of a Palestinian doctor and his family.

 

Rachel Corrie, whose photograph is on the cover, died on March 17 when the bulldozer driver, whom Rachel had been speaking to minutes before, ran over her, crushing her body in a heap of dirt.

 

When we think of people taking principled stands, we usually think of people like Mahatma Gandhi, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and Nelson Mandela - people we might never hope to emulate. But actually, most leadership for a life-sustaining world is coming from ordinary people. In fact, those people we think of as giants were at one time ordinary mortals like ourselves, and frequently were disparaged and vilified.

 

What sets apart those who are making a difference is their clarity and courage. Even in a time when fear rules our lives and radically changes our society, these people don't lose sight of another way. They know that a might-makes-right, petroleum-dependent, corporate-dominated world is unsustainable. They are reaching for hope, not driven by fear. And many are already experiencing the benefits of creating the foundations of a better world, since the process itself can feed the soul, nourish families and communities, and infuse life with a meaning far larger than that provided by domination or over-consumption. ...

It might be easy for some to allow an image like Rachel's to fuel both rage and a hopeless feeling that the world will never change! I do not actually believe that this is actually true! I believe that we are gradually coming to a time of transition into a far more hopeful world. My friend Shepherd Hoodwin, who has been channeling Michael for many years, sent out a message recently that confirmed my own belief. Shepherd wrote:

THE QUICKENING

As humanity moves increasingly towards destruction, there will be many who question assumptions that were heretofore taken for granted. Many more people will join the ranks of the seekers. Those who are already consciously on the path of greater consciousness will be their teachers. Teaching can take many forms. The greatest is by example, but providing information and perspective is invaluable. The internet will increasingly be a source for those who are awakening to self. You who disseminate good information of any

kind, but especially that which fosters the opening of heart and mind, are assisting in planetary transformation.

 

It is helpful to look beyond the events that the media calls news and observe the quickening of consciousness occurring everywhere. The negative side of that is that those who react to it rather than internalize it are more frenetic and anxious. Those who identify with the quickening find it more and more easy to see the world in large terms, beyond apparent self-interest to the greater good.

 

The more frenetic the world becomes, the greater the importance of staying in the position of pure consciousness, the quiet place that observes the big picture. This offers a place of refuge for those who are awakening.

-- Michael channeled by Shepherd Hoodwin,

May 21, 2003

 

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