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The Day the World Listened

        The old man heard a sound and crawled out of his tent. It was Thursday, 8:09 P.M. in the desert north of Addis Ababa. In Suva a young man suddenly stopped running on the soccer field and looked skyward in response to the sound. It was 6:09 P.M. Friday in Suva.
        In Stockholm a young woman, a nurse, was walking to work at the Karolinska University Hospital when she heard the sound. She looked around her and then towards the heavens. It was Thursday, 6:09 P.M.
        In Manhattan an electrician, repairing a fuse box heard the sound and checked the time on his wristwatch. It was Thursday 12:09 P.M. in New York.
        The sound had come from above. It was heard at exactly the same time around the world.
        Babies heard the sound and stopped crying. The deaf heard again. The billions around the world paused in their tracks.
        Presidents and Prime Ministers, wives and husbands, teenagers and the elderly all looked towards the heavens. From commerce to neighborhood discussions the world’s billions stopped as their attention was drawn to the heavens. 
        The world’s eyes and ears were drawn upwards.
        Suddenly a soft voice was heard.
        All activity on Earth stopped. The voice came from beyond the clouds, further than the sun, but it was clear and everyone understood the language. Each person on Earth heard the voice in their own tongue.
        “I come to you in this time of turmoil and trouble. It is a time to turn to love for one another and to turn aside from war and threats of war and violence.”
        “There are men that come to you saying they are of God and peace, but they are not. A man that wishes others to die in the name of their God has come before you to lie. Man is born to love his fellow man and any that would bring harm to another is a false prophet. “
        “This world of yours is a place for all to find harmony, good will and love. There are those among you who would bring injury, pain and death to women and to those who pray to gods other than theirs. These men of violence and ill will are not men to be trusted. There is but one God and He is a God of love and compassion. Reject these men of mistrust and violence. Believe only in those men who come to you with love. Reject the teachings of those who tell you that their God is the only God and those that do not believe in Him should be put to death.”
        “The only true God is filled with love for you and all others. There is but one belief, one God, one truth. There is yet hope for all. Let love fill your hearts and souls.”
        “Bless you.”
         Around the world the billions remained silent. They peered at the clouds and the skies around them. The voice was gone. Wonder filled the air.
        The old man in Addis Ababa sat on the sand. Tears rolled down his face. The young man in Suva kneeled on the grass and prayed. The nurse in Stockholm ran to the hospital to be with friends. The electrician in Manhattan continued to stare at the heavens.
        Around the world billions thought of what they had just heard. The skies were silent.
        An eleven year old girl with dark brown eyes and long dark hair kneeled beside her bed in the small house of her parents in the village of Garmsar, near Tehran, Iran. She prayed, “Dear God, let everyone understand what You said, I hope they do.”