Here are reflections shared on my Facebook page “Face of Mercy”

I want to share with you about “Restoring Humanity”. These two powerful words I came across in the recent document of UN’s First World Humanitarian Summit, which took place in Istanbul, Turkey on 23rd May and 24th May 2016. Why we are called to restore humanity? , we restore something only when we have broken something or when we have taken it away from the place it truly belongs to. I feel we have broken the promise we made, the promise that we would love and care for our fellow human beings, that we would protect our planet. We all have forgotten the promise we had made as humans when this world was created. If human beings are so evolved than so many other species in the planet, then we must be responsible for all that we do.

 

The Summit , speaks of “Investing in Humanity”, as one of their main themes. I found this very interesting, I asked myself, “What action am I taking to invest in humanity?” . One of the action that came to my mind was – Acts of Mercy (Acts- Action). Truly, acts of mercy will help us restore humanity which the world is in need of.

Mercy is a Choice – to be or not to be

On my way back home at the railway platform saw two sides of the same coin. First, I passed by a fit and fine woman crying bitterly and begging for money with a child who was sleeping in her arms. I looked at her and questioned, ” does she need my help? Not really “. There are so many who cry and beg for money, I thought to myself. Few steps ahead, I saw a visually challenged man selling office folders all by himself, making the effort to do his best to earn his bread and butter. I thought, he surely understands the choices we make in life. So mercy is not an obligation, it is a choice we make and we make them powerfully.

Mercy is Togetherness.

We can never live in isolation, the fact that we talk about mercy and other values for humanity is because we exist together, with differences. When we acknowledge our limitations and appreciate other’s potentials, together we can build a better world. Likewise, mercy is to be shown to others, it cannot be dealt in isolation.

How can we be merciful to others, if we are not merciful to ourselves?

We at times knowingly or unknowingly don’t respect ourselves, we doubt our potentials, we worry about what others are thinking of us and this can go on till the end of our lives. When we know that god has showered immense mercy on us, why don’t we accept god’s plans and be merciful to ourselves. We all have the gift of mercy, so let’s be cheerful people who love themselves, so we can truly love others, who believe in themselves, so we can truly believe in others. Remember, those who have nothing within, have nothing to give. So, Be merciful to others and be merciful to yourself!

The Gaze

† Our selfish nature can turn our eyes inward creating ‘ONLY ME’. We need our eyes place rightly, we need our gaze right. We are created to gaze at others as God would. Look at the gaze of Christ which can transform us
† Agca, a 23 year old man was offered 3 million to kill Pope John Paul II. On 13th May, 1981 he sat down in the Vatican square writing postcards. When the Pope arrived from close range he shot 4 rounds before being overpowered by a Vatican security chief, a nun and spectators. All four bullets hit Pope John Paul II.
† Following the shooting the words of Pope John Paul II were – “It was a mother’s hand that guided the bullet’s path… Pray for my brother whom I have sincerely forgiven”
† Agca was sentenced to life imprisonment but on Pope John Paul’s request he was released and was deported to his native country Turkey. Later on Pope John Paul even met his mother and brother.
† 33 years later, Agca showed up at the Vatican to lay white roses on the recently canonized Saint John Paul II’s tomb
† On the anniversary of this assassination attempt Saint John Paul II teaches us forgiveness and to see our mother’s guiding hand.

Being Merciful Hurts

When someone constantly puts you down, when someone does not share their life with you, when someone misunderstands you, when someone is rude to you, when someone betrays you and when that one tear drop that travels from the bottom of your heart stands at the edge of your eye to flow. You bravely swallow it in and give the other person a smiling eyes of mercy……IT HURTS.Yes, being merciful hurts at times, simply because we are humans. However, when we don’t give up on mercy on the face of odd situations, transformation happens

Someone else can be merciful, why only me?

Some people in the past thought, “someone else can plant a tree, why only me?”. Instead, they began to construct long roads only to realise that there was only one tree left after years. Their next generation had roads but no trees. Are we waiting for someone else to be merciful, or we are ensuring that there is immense self transformation in our generation, so the next generation can build more humanistic values and sustain a better world.