Bono sings "Amazing Grace" at Rose Bowl concert, and it is amazing. Grace. The U2 concert is on YouTube. Live. Free. Two plus hours of an amazing concert. A first.

Have you experienced amazing grace? Being lost in life ... and then found? In spiritual direction, so many people share how they are lost, and waiting to be found by someone, anyone. Maybe it's as simple as a smile or greeting from you. Or me. Or a companion through the gift of spiritual direction who helps listen for the sacred, already present.

Watch Bono, along with 100,000 other people. Millions tune in on the Internet. Let him speak and sing to you. It's powerful. He knows what I mean. I can hear it in his voice. See it in his body. My wish is that everyone could know this sense of presence, embrace. Fast track to 1:48:10 for five minutes, and then respond. Or give yourself a treat and watch the full two hour concert. You'll even see Desmond Tutu speak.

I wish I could have been at this concert, live. Not just watching it now on my laptop. And I could have, really. I happened to be in southern California on Sunday. Friends went. Many friends. In fact, I read on Facebook that some friends and members of Spiritual Directors International were there. A member of SDI has written about U2 and Bono, making connections to soulful leadership. Yesterday, when I flew home to Alaska, I heard fellow passengers talking about the concert. They'd been there. But, I had just co-led a women's retreat, and hadn't known U2 would be performing so close, when I happened to be in town. And, truth be told, I was already spent, having led, shared, talked, prayed and played with women on a weekend spiritual retreat. So, thanks to the Internet, and the generousity of U2 and sponsors, I'm now streaming the concert, live, free.

An invitation to you:
Take a music break. Then listen, as I am, to Bono sing, "I once was lost, and now I'm found ... was blind ... and now I see." Hear the chorus and crowds rejoice. What do these words, and the energy from the crowds evoke in you? Maybe, perhaps, an awareness of amazing grace? Listen for five minutes as he flows into the next classic U2 tune, and sings "reach out and touch the flame." What flame do you touch? Where is fire alive in your life of service, of prayer, of play?

On Tuesday, October 27, 2009, The New York Daily News reports:

The legendary rock group set yet another career record Sunday night as the first band to broadcast a concert live on the popular video sharing Web site YouTube. The band performed at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif. in front of a crowd of 100,000 while simultaneously, Internet users from 16 countries around the world were able to tune in to the concert from the comfort of their own homes. U2's October 25th concert at the Rose Bowl in Pasedena, California was viewed live by millions who couldn't be there - on YouTube.

Take a five minute break, click the YouTube video link, and fast forward to 1:48:10. Where do you experience amazing grace?