It has been a tumultuous year for many people throughout the world-from a global financial meltdown to death and destruction from both mother nature and at the hand of fellow man. People have killed each other in the name of religion, over drugs, because they tire of a spouse or being parents, or because they just plain can.

Some people have made greed and materialism their God. Others have allowed their hatred to fester and so consume them, they have become the personification of that hate, and so they lash out at everyone around them. Most of the violence in the world today is rooted in fundamentalist religious ideology- people who believe their way is the only way, so we have those killing others because those ‘others’ don’t happen to share their beliefs. Our world has become hateful and hate-filled, seeking to place blame on others, be it another person or another country, when they fail to see that the rottenness within themselves or their own country. Instablogs is a microcosm of the world, and you can see, right here in this little community, how that hatred manifests itself, both in the content of what people post and the comments certain people make.

No wonder our small planet is such a mess! It truly saddens me to see what has become of the human race, we have become more like animals than humans.

My prayer for 2009 is that we somehow get back the “human” part of our natures. That those who embrace hatred rather than love, can somehow find it within themselves to extricate the darkness that is hate ( as difficult as that might be) and replace it with love; then and only then will there be peace on earth. There’s a wonderful saying that goes something like “Let there be peace on earth, good will to men, and let it begin with me.” What that means is that there can never be peace until we find that peace and good will within our own hearts. It only takes one person to put down their weapons (literally and figuratively speaking ) and extend the hand of friendship for the barriers to start breaking down.

If we continue down the path we are heading, full of hate and wishing ill of others, we are going to reap what we sow, and it isn’t going to be good.

God Bless you all, and may you find and nurture the seeds of hope and love within yourselves.