We Believe

Last night, Taka and I stepped
outside shortly after dusk to observe
the aligning of Jupiter and Saturn,
an event that won’t occur again in
over 800 years. I watched in awe as
the light of those two stars
combined into one wondrous and
bright light, and paused – reflecting
on all that had occurred in this last
year.

Yes, there was a pandemic, but there
were scientists across the world who
combined their lights to bring hope
and a cure to us. Yes, there had been
a darkness that had crossed our land
in the last four years, creating hatred
and division, but spirits of light
came together, believing in love and
light and in hope. Those bright
spirits of light made phone calls,
wrote postcards, ferried people to
the polls, and insisted that we could
do better. We met, we planned, we
participated, we prayed, and in the
end, I believe we brought many
points of light together to again
bring hope and light to our country
and our world.

Light is an amazing gift. It brings
life. It disinfects. It creates wonder as
it illuminates and dissipates the
darkness. When tightly focused it
has the power to cut diamonds.
Light brings the miracle of love and
laughter. It brings with it the ability
to see the light in others. It brings
with it the ability to again envision
what we thought we’d lost, and the
courage to leave the world better
than we found it. We owe it to our
children to share the light, to be the
light, to see the light in others. To
never stop insisting that together as
a nation, and as a world, we will be
the light that insists on including
every human being of every color,
every race, every sexual orientation,
every faith and every creature great
or small in our circle of love.

has the power to cut diamonds.
Light brings the miracle of love and
laughter. It brings with it the ability
to see the light in others. It brings
with it the ability to again envision
what we thought we’d lost, and the
courage to leave the world better
than we found it. We owe it to our
children to share the light, to be the
light, to see the light in others. To
never stop insisting that together as
a nation, and as a world, we will be
the light that insists on including
every human being of every color,
every race, every sexual orientation,
every faith and every creature great
or small in our circle of love.

In today’s meditation, I’d like to
close by asking that we commit
together to continue to be the light
in the darkness, to continue to
spread the light, and to continue
working together to create miracles
for the lives that follow ours. “I
Believe” these miracles are possible,
because I’ve already seen them
happen.

I leave you with a beautiful
meditation in song and a prayer for
what may be, if we combine our
lights and our love. We share with
you members of our extended
Keawalai ohana, Marla Kavanaugh
and Daniel Rodriguez, singing (with
their permission) – “I Believe.”

Dr. Ellen Caringer is a member of the Shine Your Light Team, and is a psychologist and neuropsychologist on the island of Maui. She has been church pianist for Keawalai Congregational Church for over 20 years and is one of the founders of Hui Aloha o Maui Indivisble.

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Daniel Rodriguez is a Puerto Rican American operatic tenor from New York City. He became known as “The Singing Policeman” in his former work with the New York City Police Department, due to his role as one of the department’s designated National Anthem singers. On 9-11-2001, he was two blocks away from the Twin Towers when they collapsed, and he spent many hours participating in rescue efforts. In the aftermath of those terrorist attacks, he received widespread attention with his rendition of “God Bless America”, which he sang at memorial events and on television. This led to an offer of formal training from Plácido Domingo. Rodriguez has recorded numerous albums, and appeared as lead tenor in several operas. He regularly appears in support of his chosen charities, as well as performing a full domestic and international concert schedule. He is married to the talented Marla Kavanaugh, and they have a daughter who was born in Aotearoa (New Zealand). Marla Kavanaugh is an award-winning Musical Theater and Opera singer. She was born in Dunedin, New Zealand, and began her stage career at the age of five. She moved to the USA in the 1990s and has performed as a leading lady with orchestras in Japan and all over the USA. She is married to Daniel Rodriguez, and they have a daughter who was born in Aotearoa (New Zealand).