Intention isn\u2019t enough. And ingrained habit is very, very hard to change. But, what it is, is the opportunity to notice, to change our hearts, and to move in new directions. <\/div>\n
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While maudlin to the max, Dicken\u2019s
Christmas Carol<\/span> provides a template of this turning heart. Good Unitarian that he was, sort of, Dicken\u2019s showed the way of \u201csalvation by character.\u201d That is, how we can notice what we have been doing, and change our actions, our direction in life.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
In Abramoff\u2019s case, the words in his plea were right. He declared his brokenness clearly. He claimed to now be different than the arrogant and corrupt person. He asked for mercy.<\/div>\n
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What he got was four years. (I suspect in Club Fed. The white collar criminal is too rarely treated like the hoi polloi\u2026) Still, I understand this was considered a harsher sentence than was expected. <\/div>\n
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If our actions reap consequences, frankly, it didn\u2019t sound all that harsh considering the damage he did. But, I don\u2019t know.<\/div>\n
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What I do know is that he has in the midst of all this presented a possibility for himself. <\/div>\n
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If he takes these next couple of years as opportunity, if he is willing to actually cultivate that generous part of his heart, well, who knows what man will emerge from prison.<\/div>\n
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For me at this moment, the invitation here is to look into my own heart, to look at what I am doing and not doing, and to reflect.<\/div>\n
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On this sad occasion for one man, perhaps, if for no other reason, out of respect for his humanity and our common suffering humanity, we all might undertake such an inventory\u2026<\/div>\n
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Perhaps it could even make the world a tiny bit better place\u2026<\/div>\n
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