How could it be that a chance encounter could generate such a strong, positive energy that I felt instantly enlivened and energised? With this woman by my side, I suddenly thought, I could face anything. It was a profound thought: profoundly irrational, but profoundly real.

I confessed that I felt that the world had taken a sharp turn for the worse with the war in the Middle East. In the face of all the negativity, we are so helpless, I said. And laughingly, I concluded, “So that’s why I have to do my part with the cart.”

“It does make a difference,” she responded. “We can make a difference.” I couldn’t turn away from this woman. “I wish I could believe that,” I replied. “Look at the mess we’re handing our children.” “Don’t let all that get in the way of the larger vision what we can do to change the world,” she counselled. “Believing is seeing,” she said, now standing next to me. “Believing is seeing.” She touched my arm. Standing on the hot asphalt of the suburban parking lot, I felt a sense of calm and purpose no amount of therapy, prayer, or study had ever given me. And today, I woke up to the news that the British government had “disrupted” a terrorist plot to blow up planes in midair.

I’m still a rationalist, and terrified by the negative forces that hold sway throughout the planet. But I did learn one thing about positive energy: it’s a powerful force that can transform us, connect us to one another, and maybe change the world. — Beliefnet.com (Concluded)