Journal of Sacred Work

We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be
enemies…The mystic chords of memory…will yet swell the chorus… when again touched…
by the better angels of our nature.

Abraham Lincoln – First Inaugural Address – March 4, 1861

Our Better Angels

 One of Disney’s classic cartoons
portrays the friendly old dog Goofy in a quandary. A cat has fallen down a well
and calls out to be saved. The dog rubs his chin unsure what to do next. At
this moment, “the better angel of his nature” appears on his right shoulder.
“Save the cat,” the kind angel pleads. Goofy begins pulling on a rope to lift
the cat to safety.

But a second angel, holding a
pitchfork, appears on Goofy’s left shoulder: “Let the cat drown, Goofy. You’re a dog, that’s a cat. Dogs don’t save cats.”
Confused, Goofy lets go of the rope and the cat falls back into the well. The
argument angel argument rages back and forth as Goofy alternately raises the
cat, lowers him, then raises him again.

Watching this movie in the Bruin
Theater at age six, I thought the choice was clear. Goofy should save the cat.
I cheered for the better angel on his right shoulder and wondered why Goofy
seemed uncertain what to do. A few rows behind me, the voices of three older
boys gave me an answer. “Let the cat drown, you dumb dog,” they shouted.   

The simple
circumstance of this cartoon makes choice look easy to some. More complex
choices may leave us as immobilized as Goofy. If the cat down the well is my
enemy, why should I save him? If I do, he’ll just continue to bedevil me. On
the other hand, I believe in kindness, in helping others, in life, so I must
save another in distress.

If people always
chose their better angels, most of the human problems of the world would
vanish. For Lincoln,
in 1861, the choice was clear. He called his southern brethren, and all
Americans, to listen to their better angels, stay with the Union,
avoid war. They heard other voices. Hundreds of thousands of people suffered
and died because of those who refused to heed Lincoln’s appeal.

Our lives are flooded
with the voices of many more than just two angels. Perhaps you have some of the
same aggravating ones that I do – like this trio:

Lazy Angel: This angel sits all day in an easy chair, raising only
enough energy to shout to me that I should quit trying so hard. At this very
moment, he advises me to stop writing, lie down, turn on the television, take a
nap. Every so often, I listen to him because sometimes he’s right. It’s good to
rest. Other times, he is masquerading as the voice of despair. He tells me to
give up because nothing I do matters anyway. “You can’t change things,” he
calls out from his easy chair, “give up and rest.”
Proud Angel: This is the angel wants me to win credit for any good
thing I do. “Get your name up in lights,” this angel calls. “Be famous, win
applause, cover yourself in glory.” This angel is fed by praise and suffers
when unheard.
Greedy Angel: A close friend of The Proud Angel, this fellow is
hungry for money, food, new things. He is lavish in his desires for me and
stingy toward those who want any thing from me. When charity seeks my help, he
shouts, “Save your money. Don’t spare a dime. Use it instead to buy something for
yourself.”
Shaming Angel: This
devil with a pitchfork tells me I’m no good and never will be. When I
do something wrong, he smiles with delight: "I told you you’re a
sinner. Thanks for proving me right."

There are many more angels like this quartet. And there are plenty of kind ones who call for the best in me. We sit
amidst this chorus wishing the mean ones would fall silent so we may hear the songs of the
better ones.  Meditation helps us find
this silence and within it, the strength we need to find balance.

Exercise: Sit, close your eyes, take a five minute vacation at
least twice a day or, even better, make it a full twenty minutes. Meditation
always enhances life experience, improves our analytical skills, opens us to
the voices of Love, Truth and Beauty.