Tolerance Enhances Wisdom
Tolerance is a virtue and a fruit of wisdom
that can come if we firmly believe that all have the basic right to live peacefully
and enjoy their own culture, tradition, or religion.
If we are self-righteous and think that our
own culture and religion are the best and that the beliefs of the others are
unimportant, then we develop narrow-mindedness, hatred, and intolerance,
resulting in conflicts of various sorts.
Growing violence, crime and corruption at
all levels of society, are evident in the forms of disintegration of our
society. Break-up of families, decline in standards of professional ethics and
increase in the use of liquor and drugs are some of the signs that show how
chaotic our society has become. There is so much stress and mental tension that
a large number of people suffer from many psychosomatic diseases.
So, if we wish to have peace and harmony,
we have to learn to respect others and adjust ourselves with them to co-exist.
We have to also to learn to forget and forgive some lapses and shortcomings of
others in the spirit of friendliness or brotherhood; else, we cannot have
goodwill, amity, co-operation and peace.
Extracted from 'Self Empowerment' by Bridget Menezes (Malaysian author)
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