Tuesday, August 1, 2017

Life, Mutuality, Peace

Just as a tree turns to light, all life forms have a unique orientation: life has a direction. However, this direction is not achieved by its own power. If directivity is the ultimate inclination it must have already been present. Nothing exists by itself. To maintain its own existence the help of another is needed. To be dependent on another being means to have a sense of existence and direction given by another being. Different beings relate with the conditions of existence that each requires. If this relationship is balanced without distortion peacefulness can be expected. This is the first paragraph of the View from the Ark by a professor at the Catholic University.

Human life like any other has a unique orientation. However, human life requires a lot of external help in comparison to other beings. The frailty of a child requires the cooperation and closer bond with the community. This shows the special quality of human life. The weakness of children and elderly shows this more clearly. Here we have the law of mutuality at work, a win/win situation.

The law of life is not simply giving and receiving. The law of co-existence begins with discovering the meaning of relationships. As we see a different depth of life a new relationship develops and a deeper meaning. At the natural level we think about each other's survival but at the social level, we think about the value of life. Furthermore, we enter the religious and moral dimension and we begin understanding what perfection in life means.

It's like the seed of a tree when planted and reaches maturity it gives peace to those who are looking for shade. Peace is the fruit of life and we are meant to extend this peace to one another in a win/win situation. Each in their own way without confusion. Peace is not silence and the absence of work but the ultimate harmony. It accepts differences and a fuller harmony. True peace is dynamic.

Peace does not come to those who simply wait. God comes to us in his infinite love and in the seeds he  has planted in us of resurrection that overcame the sufferings of the cross.This is the promise of future peace. Those who experience this joy in life have a great gift.

Loss of the value of life is epidemic in society. We hear the tragic news of terrorism, war, the loss of innocent lives and the destruction of our Eco-system because of human greed. Loss of life due to injustice is the loss of peace. Seeds of life can not sprout in the dry earth. Without the correct understanding of the situation we have no hope. The world needs to be a place of harmony and mutual growth. Another being is a mirror that helps me know myself. We need to give glory to love, peace and the Lord who lives within us.