Humming In MY Universe
Philippine Star February 19, 2007
By Jim Paredes

Some people like to share quotes from the Bible. I like to share quotes and stories from other non-traditional sources, such as religious texts from other sects, or just quotes from other, non-religious people to share.

Once in a while, I spot a quote that really strikes me like lightning and I find myself in an aha! situation that can be so affirming. It’s like the divine dove of understanding has perched on my head. And at that moment, there is a clarity about the world and myself.

I like passages that deal with the harder issues of life, like this one about loving our enemies. For sure, all of us have had a few people we secretly wish ill will on. This one cuts beautifully.

‘Another way that you love your enemy is this:
When the opportunity presents itself for you to defeat your enemy,
that is the time which you must not do it.
There will come a time, in many instances,
when the person who hates you most,
the person who has misused you most,
the person who has gossiped about you most,
the person who has spread false rumors about you most,
there will come a time when
you will have an opportunity to defeat that person.
It might be in terms of a recommendation for a job;
it might be in terms of helping that person
to make some move in life.
That’s the time you must do it.
That is the meaning of love.

In the final analysis,
love is not this sentimental something that we talk about.
It’s not merely an emotional something.
Love is creative, understanding goodwill for all men.
It is the refusal to defeat any individual.
When you rise to the level of love, of its great beauty and power,
you seek only to defeat evil systems.
Individuals who happen to be caught up in that system, you love,
but you seek to defeat the system.”

— Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Talk about magnanimity. A heart so big that it can set aside the need for revenge and accommodate new possibilities of relating, is truly powerful. I am not sure whether such an opportunity where we find ourselves having the upper hand with regard to our enemies will always present itself. But if it ever does happen, it’s good to remember Martin Luther King’s thoughts and put proper closure and finality to karmic discord.

Here’s another:

‘Forgiveness doesn’t look attractive until we get to the other side.’

This is so true.

Depending on how deeply we perceive our personal hurts, it is difficult to even consider the thought of forgiving people who have caused us great pain. The very notion rubs salt on our wounds so that our rejection of forgiveness would seem justified — until we tire of feeling like victims and decide to free ourselves from this disempowered mode. But even when we do, for sure, it’s a scary step into what seems like a very dark direction that goes against everything that we feel. But people who have done exactly this have found that it is the only way to go.

This morning, someone sent me an article about Judea Pearl, the father of Daniel Pearl, the journalist who was kidnapped and beheaded by Pakistani extremists. In memory of his son, Judea Pearl has decided to devote his life to bridging Jews and Muslims in peaceful acceptance and understanding. The first thing he did was to look for a Muslim counterpart who would share his vision so he could reach the Muslim audience as well. He found it in the person of Akbar Ahmed, a teacher. They now work together to foster communication and understanding in some communities among two peoples’ who have had an endless history of enmity towards each other.

Something as traumatic as losing a son the way Judea Pearl did could destroy most men. While Judea Pearl admits that time takes too long to heal his wounds, he says that he wanted to honor of his son who did not have a single mean bone in his body, and whom he loved with every fiber of his being.

It is a tribute to Daniel’s ‘gentle, golden spirit,’ he says. I quote: ‘You see, our son was born with an awful affliction – a belief in the goodness of humanity, and a total absence of malice.’

To wait any longer until the pain of losing Daniel has eased would be to dishonor what his son was all about.

What Judea Pearl is doing is nothing short of heroic and revolutionary. Instead of succumbing to hatred he has chosen to create new possibilities for the future of mankind. He is pulling up humanity to a higher evolutionary stage beyond the ‘eye for an eye’ mindset. He is choosing to love instead of the time-honored but deadly response of hatred and revenge to deal with his loss.

Another quote I find quite illuminating has to do with confusion itself. It is from Vaclav Havel, the poet and playwright who is a former President of Romania. He says:

‘Hope is not the conviction that something will turn out well, but the certainty that something makes sense regardless of how it turns out.’

I love this! It’s so full of faith that clarity will always dawn upon us no matter what happens or how confusing things seem to be!

This is a good mantra to repeat at this time when we are pondering the inexplicable behavior of the political players in our country, or our seeming inability to ever rise from the mire we’re in, or when we witness unbelievable cruelty or suffering everywhere. I think of Havel’s faith as I watch how a country like Iraq is utterly destroyed by a thoughtless, mad leader of an otherwise great nation.

Lastly, I’d like to end with a story about purity of intentions, albeit explained in a most unusual way.

The story as told by Joseph Campbell, one of my favorite writers, is that of a Samurai warrior who was tasked to look for someone and kill him. After many months, he finally found himself face to face with the enemy, and after a fierce fight, he had him cornered. But right before he was about to kill the man, his prey spat at him. This angered the Samurai warrior so much, that he had no choice but to walk away and let the man go. Why? Because he would not have been true to the Samurai code if he had done his job out of anger and without equanimity and purity of intention and purpose.

Can you think of a more dramatic story of honor and dignity?

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