One Voice, The Power of One, That All May Be One

Now that my CD player is working in the car, I decided to pull out a few of my favorite CD's to sing along with while in the car yet again for hours on end as I approach the end of a 3 week daily injection at my doctor's office.  This intervention is to kill the lingering cancer cells known as "persisters", while boosting my immune system to allow it to fight on its own.

Pretty interesting stuff, albeit, very time-consuming and requiring a commitment on my part.  I'm okay with this commitment because I truly believe that I am healing, healed and whole!  Now back to the title that came from my mind's focus.  I love Barbara Streisand, have sung her songs for years and this particular album has some of my favorites - Over The Rainbow, People, Evergreen - all songs that have meaning and purpose about love, caring and making dreams come true!  She dedicated this album to raising human consciousness about caring for our world and each other - a theme that resonates with me.

It led me to think about the Power of One concert that I coordinated about five years ago in order to raise money for our mental health agencies in town.  The youth in our affluent town had been affected in a major way with a rash of suicides and this took a toll on the morale of the students, families, religious communities and schools.  My younger daughter and I decided to become actively involved in a wonderful support and education program called Adolescent Wellness.  The title of my concert was born out of my relationship with a priest who is a life-long family friend.

Fr. Steve belongs to the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement at Graymoor in Garrison NY.  The group resides on a beautiful mountain in the Catskill region.  What I remember and love about Graymoor is the mission of these dedicated folks - to serve the underprivileged and to offer a place of healing for those struggling with addictions.  Fr. Paul, the founder of the religious group, had the vision of bringing all religious groups together and to break down the barriers which lead to conflict and war.  I was always struck by this profound message - one so needed in this day and age of turf wars.

I sang for hours, while contemplating the power of unity, feeling very connected to all that is.

May you have peace and unity,
Julie