One of the memorable moments in my life was a talk I heard given by the Dalai Lama. This man can fill up a huge auditorium with the radiance of his love and wisdom. And while the acoustics and our different mother tongues made it difficult sometimes to understand the words he spoke, the meaning of his compassion was always clearly and powerfully expressed.

Recently a friend of mine passed along the following account of a conversation with His Holiness. A group of visitors was asked to come up with five questions before meeting with the Dalai Lama. They asked:

• How do we address the widening gap between rich and poor?
• How do we protect the earth?
• How do we educate our children?
• How do we help Tibet and other oppressed countries/peoples?
• How do we bring spirituality -- deep caring for each other's -- through all disciplines?

The Dalai Lama said all the questions fall under the last one. If we have true compassion, our children will be educated, and we will care for the earth and the "have-nots." He asked the group, "Do you think loving on the planet is increasing or staying the same?" His own response was, "My experience leads me to believe that love IS increasing." He then shared a practice with the group that will increase loving and compassion in the world and asked everyone attending to go home and share it with as many people as possible.

The Practice

• Spend five minutes at the beginning of each day remembering that we all want the same thing (to be happy and loved) and we are all connected.
• Spend five minutes cherishing yourself and others. Let go of judgments.
• Breathe in cherishing yourself, and breathe out cherishing others. If the faces of the people you are having difficulty with appear, cherish them as well.
• During the day extend that attitude to everyone you meet: "We are all the same, and I cherish you and myself."

Stay in the practice, no matter what happens. When we gather for the first worship of the new year, we will be considering our covenant together. Not everyone agrees that there is need of such an understanding among us, but I think it will help. The mission we have given ourselves embraces all of the concerns the visitors brought to the Dalai Lama, and there are so many times when it seems impossible for us to extend ourselves enough to achieve it. , there are times when we fall far short of these and other noble goals. In our frustration over too much to do in too little time, we do not always treat each other with kindness and respect. Yet I concur with the Dalai Lama's assessment of the world--we are, as individuals and as a species, learning to be more loving and it makes a difference.