Lord, make me an instrument of your peace;
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
Where there is injury, pardon;
Where there is doubt, faith;
Where there is despair, hope;
Where there is darkness, light;
And where there is sadness, joy.

For a long time now, I’ve been trying to imagine what an instrument of peace would look like. In my fantasy world, they would be at the top of every child’s wish list. In the aisle where toy guns used to be, “instruments of peace” in clamshell packaging would fly off the store shelves.

In this world, we would not be afraid to send our children to school, go to a movie theater, or to participate in events like the Boston Marathon…In my fantasy world, kids could march to the beat of their own drummer and be celebrated for it. Women would feel safe walking alone. Here, it would be preposterous to think that marriage between people who love each other would have to be “legalized.” Food, shelter, and access to health care and education would be available to everyone. It would be taken for granted that we could assume the best of each other.

On those days when the world seems so very dark, what can we do but try to sow peace, love, pardon, faith, hope, light, and joy every day, in whatever way we can, wherever we may be?