We weep in pain today.
We weep as we have wept this weekend.
We weep not just for Paris, but also for Beirut, for Japan, for Mexico. We are in pain for Baghdad and for so many other people and places that are not thrown on to the front pages of our newspapers and splashed onto our television screens.
Furthermore, we weep for the displaced people of Syria, Lybia, Iraq. We weep over the oppressed of palestine, the pilloried of Israel, the sex slaves of Thailand and the people spiralling out of control into their own personal hells, be that physical or mental illness.
We weep to share the pain and anguish that others suffer.
Consequently, I weep because I’m a peacemaker, a pacifist and a healer.
My life is focussed on doing what I can to take away people’s pain and make their lives better. When I see the misguided actions of anyone, whether driven by religions, political, selfish or any other motive, causing more pain and more hurt in this world, I weep again.
We cannot continue to ignore the suffering of the people of this world because we are all human. We cannot sit idly by and let the governments continue to cause unspeakable horrors in acts of revenge against the terrorists.
More pain, more death, more fear, more violence will not solve the problems of the world, as Martin Luther King said:
“Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.” Martin Luther King
So let us start practicing love to the ‘other’. To your family, to your immediate neighbour, to your street and local area. Don’t live in fear of someone who is dressed differently or looks different. They may be just as scared of you, thinking that you think they are “one of them”.
No, go out of your way to love people. To show kindness, generosity, compassion, patience, self-control, humility, selflessness, politeness, protection, trust, forgiveness, hope.
And person by person, conversation by conversation, piece by piece, day by day, we can make this world a better place. Practice it locally and like the ripples in a pond, small acts of love will change the world.
In the paraphrased words of Mother Teresa of Calcutta:
“We can do no great things, only small things with great love.”
Most of all, go and love one another. Bring healing to this broken planet.
