Wishes For All
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| Photo by Tzer Haw |
Mother Earth never ceases to awe and astound me with her beauty, her primordial POWER, her absolute compassion and mercy.
She could have easily terminated 30 million human lives instead of tens of thousands.” Antares (Kit Leee), the guru of new age thinking in the Klang Valley, wrote in a recent poem.
He
has summarized the feelings many of us have experienced since the outbreak of
the Asian tsunami tragedy. We are overwhelmed by our sense of helplessness.
A friend said it all, “When it is time to go, you just go like this, often, with no warning. We are all part of nature’s cycle of life and death. So remember, do something meaningful for breath you take, love your family and friends and nurture your spiritual grow!”
A friend said it all, “When it is time to go, you just go like this, often, with no warning. We are all part of nature’s cycle of life and death. So remember, do something meaningful for breath you take, love your family and friends and nurture your spiritual grow!”
The
last sentence that she uttered is the New Year resolution of many of my
friends. I am reading it in email and hearing it on the phone. My friends want
to live and enjoy the present till whenever they can. Hearing their calm
soothing voices and reading their inspirational writings remind me of the
blessings around me as I embark on my own journey to my destination in this
life.
I
wish everyone I know, including the angry, vengeful and unhappy people who have
shared their stories with me, is making similar New Year resolution. And
most of all to members of my extended family. Several
members of my extended family passed
away this December.
The unresolved issues they left behind have sent shock waves throughout the rest of the family. Instead of spending time together to renew family strength, some old wounds and hurts were dugged up among some members who have not spoken or seen each other for decades, sending stressful titanic waves onto the shores of family members who were merely observers of the decades-long wound-making process.
The unresolved issues they left behind have sent shock waves throughout the rest of the family. Instead of spending time together to renew family strength, some old wounds and hurts were dugged up among some members who have not spoken or seen each other for decades, sending stressful titanic waves onto the shores of family members who were merely observers of the decades-long wound-making process.
The
wound was like the hidden earthquake in the plates of Mother Earth. Tremors
occurred whenever there were some movements of the unstable plates. And when a
major plate moved, some forms of disaster occurred. The undercurrent was so
strong that those nearest (who still refuse to change ) to the deceased might
not feel the strength of the negative impact, but those further away received
the titanic waves of the negative consequences.
All
these were caused by someone saying something wrong in anger and the receivers
reacting with more anger and keeping the hurt, nurturing it into a wound that
grew in size over the years, carrying to the next generations. If only they
could let go and make peace. Like the famous Chinese saying, “Every family has
a very difficult book to read,” my extended family’s book is full of twists and
turns of human dramas.
I
said to one of the hurt family members, “Go to the cemetery, stand in front of
the tomb stone and tell the deceased that you have forgiven the hurt inflicted
and that you treasure the good time you had had with the deceased. What is the
point of carrying the hurt forever and hate the deceased for what had happened?
We should all learn from the whole history, about responsibility and how to nurture
family, and what not to do to avoid inflicting hurt onto others.”
I
was met with complete silence though I was bracing for a big scolding for
making such an outrageous suggestion.
Nothing
of what I suggested has happened but I have thrown a little stone onto a lake,
causing some small ripples to spread -- the thoughts of forgiveness and the
whys of living.
I have urged several other people I now to let go of deep hurt, heal chasms
of misunderstandings, and reinvent themselves by building something positive
from the wounds.
One of them has been doing some reading and he wrote to me recently about what he gleaned from his reading, “In his recent book co-authored with VICTOR CHAN titled " The Wisdom of FORGIVENESS ", His Holiness THE DALAI LAMA says that " when you BOMB your neighbours, you BOMB your own self ". Whatever suffering our enemies and adversaries inflict on us, they inflict on themselves.
Jesus said: "FATHER,
Forgive them because they do not know what they are doing! " One of them has been doing some reading and he wrote to me recently about what he gleaned from his reading, “In his recent book co-authored with VICTOR CHAN titled " The Wisdom of FORGIVENESS ", His Holiness THE DALAI LAMA says that " when you BOMB your neighbours, you BOMB your own self ". Whatever suffering our enemies and adversaries inflict on us, they inflict on themselves.
His message is the same as the Dalai Lama's. Jesus is really saying, when you poke a spear into my body, you are actually poking a spear into yourself, BECAUSE IN OUR UNIVERSE WE ARE ALL CONNECTED. WE LIVE IN A REAL LIFE WORLD OF interdependence or connectedness whether we like it or not!
“It does not matter whether
we believe in Allah, God, Buddha, or whatever, we still are entitled to a life
overflowing with BLESSINGS if we only take the trouble to hunt for them.”
By Chong Sheau Ching
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