Letter to Humanity

As part of an activity that we did during a recent retreat we each wrote open letters to humanity. Here is my own letter:

     Why is there so much hatred in this world? With hearts filled with hatred we cannot progress as a society. Each day we are killing our best resources; we are pushing our brothers and sisters to the margins of society. We have forgotten what it means to love. Sure we love our friends, our families, but what about the beggar on the street...the sex worker in Thailand...the migrant farm workers laboring away for a few dollars a day? They are our brethren. It is time that we change our perspective, open our hearts, and let go of the egotistical facade that hinders our ability to care. We must transform our understanding of what it means to be a member of the human family, as well as members of a broader family that includes animals and plants. We are not Kings and Queens of this world. We are near-sighted people. We have the tendency to care little about those or that which does not immediately or directly affect us. But we are fools, for we are all connected- bound by our humanity. And in this increasingly globalized society in which we live, we are more intimately connected. We sometimes forget this, though. No, we all too often forget this. We are blind to the reality that the decisions one person makes can and do affect others, even if they may be on the other side of the word. Our near-sightedness is destroying us. We should strive to be far-sighted people- willing to look beyond ourselves as well as willing to look into the future and see how our actions today will affect the future of the world. The connection that binds us humans around world today stretches far into the recesses of history and far into the future. A recognition of this unseen and sometimes unspoken human bond necessitates a change in mind-set and corresponding actions. Love and compassion naturally flows from a shift in views. Thus, the hope for our society lies in our ability to see the dignity in humans, to see them not just as strangers, but as brothers and sisters-part of one human family, one body in Christ.