A life without hate

A life without hate.  You begin toponder this unconditional love business.

Jesus taught "Love your enemies."  You begin to think there is a universal truth, maybe a law, behind this requirement.  Jesus wasn't talking to Christians at that time.  He was a rabbi talking to Jews.  And he said, "Love your enemies."  No conditions, no loopholes, just do it.

Alice will celebrate her 107th birthday in November.  She's the oldest living holocaust survivor -- and she loves everyone.  Here's an upbeat video interview with a remarkable upbeat lady.

Wild Bill's story

There’s a revealing account in a book called “Return from tomorrow,” by George C. Ritchie.  The hero was nicknamed Wild Bill because of the shape of his drooping mustache.  Wild Bill accomplished unselfed love through a conscious decision to forgive his enemies.  Here are some excerpts from that story as recorded by Mr. Ritchie.

 ‘He was one of the inmates of the concentration camp, but obviously he hadn’t been there long: his posture was erect, his eyes bright, his energy indefatigable.  Since he was fluent in English, French, German and Russian, as well as Polish, he became a kind of unofficial camp translator.

‘We came to him with all sorts of problems . . . . But though Wild Bill worked fifteen and sixteen hours a day, he showed no signs of weariness.  While the rest of us were drooping with fatigue, he seemed to gain strength. . . . . his compassion for his fellow-prisoners glowed on his face, and it was to this glow that I came when my own spirits were low. . . 

‘So I was astonished to learn. . . that he had been in Wuppertal since 1939!  For six years he had lived on the same starvation diet, slept in the same airless and disease-ridden barracks as everyone else, but without the least physical or mental deterioration.

‘Perhaps even more amazing, every group in the camp looked on him as a friend.  He was the one to whom quarrels between inmates were brought for arbitration. . . 

‘It’s not easy for some of them to forgive,’ I commented to him one day. . .  ‘So many of them have lost members of their families.’

‘Wild Bill leaned back in the upright chair and sipped at his drink.  “We lived in the Jewish section of Warsaw,” he began slowly, the first words I had heard him speak about himself, “my wife, our two daughters, and our three little boys.  When the Germans reached our street they lined everyone against a wall and opened up with machine guns.  I begged to be allowed to die with my family, but because I spoke German they put me in a work group.

. . . “I had to decide right then,” he continued, “whether to let myself hate the soldiers who had done this.  It was an easy decision, really.  I was a lawyer.  In my practice I had seen too often what hate could do to people’s minds and bodies.  Hate had just killed the six people who mattered most to me in the world.  I decided then that I would spend the rest of my life – whether it was a few days or many years – loving every person I came in contact with.” ’

It's very humbling to ask, "Would I be able to make that decision to remove hate from my life -- by loving every person -- even those who had murdered my children in front of  my eyes?"  This is what Christians of all stripes profess.  Yet Wild Bill was a Jew - and understood exactly the demand Life was making on him.  To not hate.   To live, to truly live and to live truly, he would love.

Opportunities to bless

"It is impossible to bless and judge at the same time.  So hold constantly as a deep, hallowed, intoned thought the desire to bless, for truly then shall you become a peacemaker, and one day you shall behold, everywhere, the face of God."

Pierre Pradervand

Isn't it pretty amazing, when you think about it, that we have the privilege, the joy, to be able to choose to bless, rather than to judge or condemn.

Sandhill cranes at sunset

 

Pass it on!

“Have you had a kindness shown? Pass it on;

'twas not given for thee alone, pass it on;

Let it travel down the years, let it wipe another's tears,

till in heaven the deed appears, pass it on.”

Henry Burton (English clergyman 1840-1930)

Goodness expands, multiplies, as we share it.  Goodness is funny that way.  Things, physical things, diminish as we share them -- only so many pieces of blueberry pie, and then it's gone.

But goodness isn't a thing, it's an attitude; it comes from an infinite source -- like a freshwater spring that never runs dry.  We aren't depleted by passing along our cheer, our goodwill, our warm approval of things beautiful.

And maybe, as Reverend Burton says, it's a duty.  Whatever kindness has been shown you, in the broader scheme of things, wasn't intended just for you.  Lest it shrivel for want of light and joy, pass it on!  You'll feel happier for having participated.

Beauty as a kindness.

The path

“There is only one path to Heaven. On Earth, we call it Love."
unknown

 

That path to heaven isn't always paved.

 

Just a high school reunion?

Two years ago a buddy from Carl Sandburg High School sent an email to a few friends.  Would anyone like to help put together a class reunion?

Several responded.  We each brought our talents, our joy, and our willing hearts.

Last weekend was the payoff.  A good crowd showed up for the Friday night event.  Many mentioned how glad they were to be there.  Several confessed that the personal phone call from someone on the committee helped them decide to come.  Some flew in; others drove across the country.

Hugs and hearty handshakes preceded fluid conversations as people moved into and out of groups.  Clique boundaries from high school days dissolved as people discovered friends and more friends from long ago.

Some of us even enjoyed a horseback ride.

Many stayed in town for Saturday events and Sunday breakfast.  The committee watched as the reunion became a great success.  What made it work so well?

I have my own take -- that everyone on the committee approached the project unselfishly.  No kidding -- this makes a difference.

We looked at the reunion as a gift to our classmates.  This love included careful attention to details.  Nobody had a personal agenda.   Assorted skills and talents meshed beautifully and were valued and appreciated by all.  The tone was wonderfully inclusive -- decisions included everyone’s input.  Those facing family challenges were warmly supported by the team.

For me the weekend unfolded on a pervasive underlying spiritual element.  It rested on a principle of Love.

Who confirms your worth?

This fun little flick goes straight to the heart of the questions, “Who are we?” and “Why are we here?”

Do you agree with the conclusion?

"The Gentle Art of Blessing"

The world, it appears, is full of caring people.  You’ll find them among your neighbors, your family, your colleagues, even strangers.

A friend told me recently that Pierre Pradervand’s book had changed her life.  I hadn’t even heard of Pierre Pradervand -- one of the world’s more public caring people.  A little Google research revealed that one of the delightful things about Pradervand is he does indeed walk his talk.

He can write about unconditional love because he lives it.  Apparently he has for some time.  I look forward to reading his book.

Here’s an appetizer, a challenge if you will, from a Youtube slide show:

“On passing people in the street, on the bus,
in places of work, and play, bless them.
The peace of your blessing will accompany them on their way
and the aura of its gentle fragrance will be a light to their path.
On meeting and talking to people, bless them in their health,
their work, their joy, their relationships to God, themselves, and others...”

You really need to see the whole seven minutes.


He has it right.  Love is the only thing that matters.