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| We live as we think |
Hi. It is with heaviness of heart that I have been pondering on what I am about to share today. And even as I do so, I doubt I will be able to capture the gravity of the sombre cloud that rests upon my soul whenever I think upon these things for indeed, beyond words and the willingness to speak, the present reality that I see makes me sad.
Our present day on many counts is privileged; we have made advances that make global communication an instantaneous possibility, we have mastered and continue to master the elements of the earth to erect monumental structures previously never possible and the sheer standard of life demanded or pursued by the average modern man is far superior to what would have been available a few hundreds, decades even ago. Our mastery of flight has allowed us to be capable of global travel in a matter of hours, where in times past such rites of passage necessitated both sizeable finances and a large amount of time. The knowledge of man has increased, to know and understand more about the functioning of his body and likewise so have facilities available for medical practice. Concerning the faith, it is now more accessible to get bibles, commentaries and information on inspiring historical figures than ever before.
Against this however is the weird juxtaposition of a society that has grown colder to one another, or at least in many parts that I have seen. In the midst of all this are countless broken cords were happy cordial relationships once stood, severed by accumulated mistrust and misplaced suspicions. Within all this, is the tale of a people programmed as it were to treat each and every next person with suspicion, to never be at ease lest someone do you wrong for that is the very nature of people. In this backdrop it is where you find sisterly bonds once woven so close together no broken asunder to the point of refusing to speak to one another at all, each party content to treat the other as though dead. It is here, where preconceived notions about men or women, boys or girls, relatives or just the ordinary next guy are outworked as lives of a decided indifference towards the welfare of the next person to the point where conversation in person is laboured and one would rather escape to the all too familiar territory of their cellphone.
It is crazy to be honest. And I know this may not be everyone’s reality, or what they have experienced; rather, it probably is not-however what I have witnessed has been enough to grieve my heart. There is a difference between a house and a home; a great house is not necessarily a great home. A house is merely a structure, but a home is a place where one feels welcome, whole, like-one belongs, whole and that is a reflection of the memories and sentiment evoked by the place. Several hotels have rooms that are better than yours probably, and they are great structures that were worked on by probably more expensive architects than the one that build your house, but it is not where you call home. In the same way, we should have a word to differentiate between a community/neighbourhood and the pathetic pretence lived nowadays where many would not be able to name their next door neighbours if their lives depended on it. There should be [probably is there, but I don’t know it] a word to differentiate between what a wholesome family is, and the disjointed, loveless chords so often before me I see.
For too long we have prioritised the importance of making our concrete prisons as comfortable as possible, chasing meaningless vanity and all the while missing authentic connection, vulnerability and a true sense of togetherness, of our true strength in numbers and missed on the joy of reconciliation.
And this cannot go on, for divided we fall but united we stand. 