July 23, 2011

Today talks proceeded with even more intensity. Even so, there is no question now that a shift is taking place for the better and I am meeting leaders from every faction in the fray. Strong friendships are being forged, friendships that will carry on far beyond this short trip to Jordan. I can see that this will be only the first of many such talks, and I search my mind for possible dates to return to the Middle East.

I’m now realizing that I should travel next to Israel and meet with both the people there, and officials from their government. I also need to go to
Palestine and have been invited by new friends and allies from both places. It all seems like a giant puzzle with all of the pieces starting to fall together for me and my work, starting long ago with my earliest work with the homeless, and then later my work fighting for equal rights and social justice in the prisons and elsewhere. Each successive challenge has given me both the tools and the connections to take the next step. And each of those steps, like some kind of magical key, has opened a new and amazing door which
I never could have imagined opening only a few years ago. I am convinced that my sincere belief that anything is possible, plays a large part in the success of these ventures, and even more so, that walking a Sacred Path as a fundamental part of my work along with a few heartfelt prayers and rituals, plays an even bigger part in that success. Especially in being presented with new opportunities and new friends who can join me in the cause, and who have the clout and influence to do so.

On that note, this evening, as if I haven’t been blessed enough with good fortune and good connections, I had the wonderful honor of being introduced to His Grace, Sharif Zaid Bin Hussein, the cousin of His Majesty King Abdullah’s esteemed father, King Hussein II.

His Grace, it turns out, has a long history of involvement in trying to resolve the Palestinian conflict, and has served in many capacities in world affairs over the last thirty or forty years.

Sometimes I get lost in the sheer magnitude of the influence that can be generated by being at the right place at the right time and meeting the right people, and there’s no question, that I’ve been blessed with that phenomena. My life’s work is a testament to that. I’m just thankful that the powers that be keep placing me in that right place and time, and that my work and mission are such that they are noble pursuits and worthy of such support.

My thoughts trace back to so many years ago when I was very young and my father shared with me several pieces of what have now for me become significant pillars of wisdom:

“Patrick”, he said, “There is nothing you can’t do if you put your mind to it. And if you treat people with respect and make friends with everyone you meet, this will lead to meeting other new friends, and when you have a large enough circle of friends, you can change the world!”

I think my father was right!

There is so much more going on here than I can report in the short breaks I get between discussions, but let me just say that history is being made as I write, and that it is both exciting and exhausting to be a part of it!

Continued….