It was silent and still
No breath, no change
And it was not dead
But it was not living
It was just there
Silent like cave
Still like grave
Until that drop
That echoed
Until that drop
That rippled
As one reached another
As one touched the other
The echoes stretched
The ripples spread
From one end to the other
Each one upholding another

I don’t understand but it seems that in the face of increasing antagonisms and intolerance, people are bent on undoing whoever doesn’t go their way. If you are not on their side, you are not worthy to stand. Very little to nothing is heard about anything good the man across the fence has done –eyes are set to find nothing but faults and they take tremendous delight in the downfall of another.

As I ponder how many great and mighty have been pushed off the cliff these couple of months; targeted for not going the broad way, arraigned in the court of public opinion, condemned for errors we are all subject to, and stoned to death by men and women who are assumed innocent because their sins are yet to find them out, I wonder what happened to, “Let him who is without sin cast the first stone.” When the Teacher said that, the conscience of accusers of brethren pricked them enough to disperse but not these days. Whatever happened to sympathy? We hear, “Judge not,” like never before but the very ones screaming that are all adorned in judges’ robes. What happened to compassion? Where went forgiving hearts? How did we lose brotherly kindness?

As I watch men and women who are subject to like passion, rip up another as if they are blameless, I fear what our world is quickly morphing into; the maddening uncertainties, the sweeping rage, the unsettling repercussions, the very bullying we condemn among minors taking center stage amidst those who should know better. Guess the result? It makes the world fearful, hateful, and vengeful as it turns uglier. We forget: that as you point one finger at another, the other four points right back at you. Yes you, not him, not her, not them: you and I are responsible for what the world is turning into. If error abounds, it is because we bet and abet it. If evil is reigning, it is because we enthrone it. If life is ugly, we have made it exactly thus. And if things will change, it must start with you and me. Not them: the solution starts with you and me.

We can’t control what they say and what they do but we can watch our thoughts and words and actions. If you and I can choose today to dare to be and do and see differently, that change might be just a drop in the ocean but you can be sure it is bound to generate ripples as one reaches one and touches another. May the change we expect start with us, with who we are, right where we find ourselves.

Glory!