The Heart of Humanity

The heart of humanity opens beyond borders when natural disasters strike, but how can we strive to keep it open through daily life?

On Faith blog -- The Heart of Humanity

 

Those of all religious faiths and those of no religious faith have come forward to help Haiti in all ways possible.  On the front door of the United Nations building in New York city is a quote from the Persian poet, Saadi:  “Human beings come from the same source.  We are one family.”  When catastrophe strikes, we observe the heart of humanity reaching out to give – whether it is for religious reasons or because it feels good to give, doesn’t matter.  Giving is happening in all corners of the world.

 

Life itself is our commonality and when life is lost, we feel for this loss and we feel for those who have lost not only loved ones, but their homes as well.  We then extend our sense of ‘neighbor’ far beyond our immediate neighborhood to reach across the world.  Most of us don’t know anyone in Haiti and will never go there ourselves, but yet, we feel connected on a very human level.  The life we share is sacred and by honoring the sacredness of life in others, we simultaneously honor it in ourselves and we create a sense of unity in our world.

 

We can’t help but notice that within our own country, in our political system, there is more polarization than ever.  In the dialogue about health care, jobs, economics, etc., could there not be more relating to each other as human beings rather than ‘Democrats’ and ‘Republicans’?  Both parties have much to offer and there is so much to be gained by collaboration and combining strengths in a way that serves the greatest good.  How are we honoring the sacredness of life in this case?  Are we?  What will it take for us to join together as ‘one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all’?  These are inspiring words and approaching our decisions with this perspective would certainly evolve our society and strengthen this country on all levels.  Do we have to wait for a catastrophe like what happened in Haiti to move beyond our differences and embrace our commonality as human beings?  Our government leaders are human beings and therefore, they do have a heart, but sometimes it seems this is forgotten in favor of political agendas.  Have we forgotten we are one nation?

 

As there are prayer groups on Capitol Hill that include many Senators and Congressman, they would do well to remember the Golden Rule, a part of every religion – ‘do unto others as you would have them do unto you.’  If this were practiced just for one day, our government would be transformed.

 

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