I had the privilege of accompanying Son In Sook, a native of South Korea, from Houston, through Grand Coteau, Baton Rouge and New Orleans, Louisiana, to Miami and LaBelle, Florida. At most stops she was asked to meet with groups of our colleagues, Associates, Alumnae, with men and women we serve in our various ministries and/or with groups of children from our Network schools. Though she tailored her message to her audience, there were some components that were the same wherever she spoke.

One part of it had to do with contemplation and prayer. A Buddhist before she became a Christian, Son is drawn to Zen prayer and sees it as the best means to growth and integration in our lives. “Your prayer should help you to resolve whatever conflicts or difficulties you have,” she says. In prayer we come face to face with those places in ourselves that need healing and we can expose them to God’s touch. In recent years we have put so much confidence in psychology, she said, we have de-emphasized confidence in the power of spirituality to transform us . . .to our own detriment. And a life of contemplation? Those familiar with other of our Asian teachers will recognize her call to focus totally on the present where God is with us as we wash dishes, meet with a client or a friend, teach a class, drive the car . . .

Another part flows from her belief that we are all part of one universal being. There is nothing any one of us can do that does not affect all other parts of that being. If we accept that premise, we must acknowledge that we, as citizens of the most powerful and one of the wealthiest countries on the globe, are responsible for the shortages of energy and food and water in other parts of the world. Rather than making peace we are spreading violence among those who suffer want. In India recently, she told us, a U.S. company found a rich source of pure water to which it affixed a large pipe to channel the water into the factory where its products were being made. Soon people out in the countryside found themselves without water to drink or to irrigate their land so they could grow their crops. A true story; a strong metaphor for us.

And finally, the importance of love. Most of the groups of students heard Son In Sook tell them she brought them love from the children of other countries she has visited recently: Uganda, India, Austria. “And what shall I bring them from you?” she asked.

“Love,” was, of course, the reply. Then she would say, “When you take in all that love from everywhere, your heart grows bigger and bigger. But if you don’t give it away, you will burst!” And we’re to give, not as people whose gifts give them advantages over others, but as people who know we are all equal, with a variety of gifts but all of value.

If we don’t enter into reciprocal relationships with others, if we continue to think of ourselves as helping others rather than receiving/learning from them as well, we are not truly loving them. In fact, we are doing them harm.

Son In Sook spoke too many wisdom words to record here, but I believe these themes were the most important. They will bear long reflection and produce, I hope, a conversion of heart in all of us who had the privilege to hear them.