When Covid first struck early last year, there were hopes expressed by many that the experience – awful and salutary though it was – might help to change things for the better; that, somehow, we would recognise as never before our need of one another and work to build a happier and fairer world. Such hopes, sad to say, have probably receded in the average person’s mind, it seeming more likely that the long-term result of the pandemic will be to bring out the worst rather than the best of us. In far too many ways, ours is still a world of hatred and cruelty. The following reflection, from my book Seize the Day: A Mindful Guide to Fuller Living, challenges us to do something about it through the way we live and the people we are.
In a world of hatred and cruelty
We have always held to the hope,
the belief, the conviction that there is a better life,
a better world, beyond the horizon.
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Something must be done to save humanity!
A better world is possible!
Fidel Castro
You are the light of the world. Just as a city
situated on a mountaintop cannot be hidden,
so nobody lights a lamp and places it under a
bushel basket. Instead, they put it on a lampstand,
in order that it might shed light throughout the house.
Matthew 5:14, 15
In a world of hatred and cruelty,
strive to love.
In a world of doom and gloom,
strive to hope.
In a world of poverty and despair,
strive to care.
In a world of conflict and division,
strive to make peace.
In a world of noise and bustle,
strive to be still.
In a world of hunger and need,
strive to show kindness.
In a world of evil and corruption,
strive to do good,
In a world of pain and suffering,
strive to bring comfort
In a world of tears and sorrow,
strive to share joy.
In a world of greed and exploitation,
strive for justice.
In a world of prejudice and discrimination,
strive to respect all.
In a world of empty trivia,
strive for wisdom.
In a world faced by ecological crisis,
strive to live responsibly.
In a world of so much ugliness,
strive to see beauty.
In a world of crippling loneliness,
strive to be a friend.
In a world of suspicion and fear,
strive to trust.
In a bleeding and broken world,
strive to make a difference.